The Power Triangle
by The Unusual Suspect
Summary: Harry's not too happy about being kept in the dark regarding Voldemort's activities. He gets a letter from someone he recently met and an unexpected visitor in the middle of the night. Very very rushed ending. Don't read it if you hadn't started already.
1. The Letter

**Disclaimer**: I tried calling JKR about selling me the rights to Harry Potter, but she didn't pick up.

I'll try tomorrow again... Till then, I do not own Harry Potter :|

**Summary**: Starts during the summer before Harry's Fifth year. Harry's stuck at the Dursley's and is pissed because none of his friends are giving him any information about Voldemort's activities. He gets a letter from a certain someone whom he met at the end of last year and an unexpected visitor in the middle of the night. Things change...

**Pairing**: Harry Potter/Tracey Davis (subject to change)

**Chapter 1**

**The Letter**

_We can't say much about you-know-what, obviously… We've been told not to say anything important in case our letters go astray… We're quite busy but I can't give you details here… There's a fair amount going on, we'll tell you everything when we see you…_

These words reverberated in Harry's mind as he sat alone on the bed in his room. He'd tried all types of ways to get some idea about what was going on, even going as far as nicking muggle newspapers out of bins, but the end result was the same: He still knew nothing.

As far as Harry could tell from the vague hints in their letters, Hermione and Ron were at the same place, presumably at Ron's parents' house. He could hardly bear to think of the pair of them having fun at The Burrow while he was stuck at Privet Drive.

He stretched a little and decided to lie down and try his best to go to sleep. However, it was easier said than done. Ever since he had witnessed Cedric Diggory's death in the graveyard, he had been having horrific nightmares about the killing curse hitting Cedric and also some about Voldemort's rebirth.

As soon as he was lying down and was about to close his eyes, he heard a flutter of wings outside the window. Thinking that it was Hedwig returning from her night-time hunting, he decided to pay no heed. However, when he looked up after a few moments, there was a brown owl at the foot of his bed, carrying a letter.

Harry was a little surprised by this. He wondered whose owl it was as he hadn't seen the owl before. He knew for a fact that none of his closest friends owned an owl like that.

He moved towards the owl and then untied the letter from the bird's leg. The owl was still in the same position. Harry looked on in confusion and opened the letter. He read:

_Hi Harry,_

_Here's my first owl to you. I really don't have much to say, but I know you must be having a hard time after the tournament._

_With Voldemort having returned, I can't help but feel very scared Harry, and you are the only person to whom I could speak about this._

_I for one can't wait to get back to Hogwarts. Hope to see you there soon._

_Stay well and stay safe. Also, do write back if you find yourself with some spare time._

_Lisa_

_P.S: The owl's name is Henna. She won't leave until you give her an owl treat. Please do so. Thanks and sorry for the trouble._

He quickly got an owl treat which he used to keep in storage for Hedwig. He was happy that she was out hunting, as he highly doubted that she would enjoy sharing her treats with another owl. As soon as he had given Henna the treat, she flew out of the window.

He then sat back on his bed and stared at the letter in his hands. He had completely forgotten about the meeting with Lisa at the end of last year. However, it wasn't long before it all came back to him and he remembered how the encounter had taken place.

FLASHBACK

_Harry was walking down the corridor of the Hogwarts Express to his compartment. Suddenly he heard a voice call out "Hey, Potter."_

_Harry looked around to see a pretty raven haired girl standing just behind him. He couldn't guess her name, but could tell from her robes that she was in Ravenclaw._

_He responded, "Hey. Hi."_

_The girl stated, "I don't think we have ever met properly. My name is Lisa Turpin and I am a Ravenclaw from your year."_

_With that she put out her hand and Harry shook it. She spoke again, "Potter, I was wondering whether I could have a word with you."_

_Harry had no idea where this was going. He replied uncertainly, "Sure. And please call me Harry."_

_Lisa smiled at him, "As you wish, Harry. I need to get something off my chest. Could you spare a moment and step into my compartment?"_

_Harry gave her an incredulous look. Lisa saw the look on his face and got wind of his gesture._

_She immediately asserted, "Stop giving me that look, Harry. I only meant to say that I needed to talk to you about something important."_

_Harry tried to defend himself, "Well uh... I didn't ... I mean... Oh forget it."_

_With that, he walked into the compartment and she walked in behind him._

_She shut the door and said, "Harry, actually I wanted to apologize to you."_

_Harry was even more confused on hearing this. He asked, "For what?"_

_Lisa replied, "For not believing you, when you said that you did not put your name in the Goblet of Fire."_

_Harry immediately realized where this was going. He responded, "Its okay, Lisa. I don't really care if you were wearing one of those stinker badges. They didn't bother me much."_

_Lisa spoke again, "But I wasn't wearing those badges, Harry. It's just that I didn't believe you."_

_Harry was surprised by this. This wasn't what he had been expecting._

_Lisa continued, "Like I said, this was something that I wanted to get off my chest from a long time. I saw you when you appeared outside the maze with the dead body of Cedric in your arms. Something changed me back there. The look on your face said it all. Since then, I have been feeling really guilty because I hadn't believed in you."_

_Harry nodded in response. This was followed by an awkward period of silence until Lisa spoke again, "So, I guess you'll be having a busy summer, what with You-Know-Who being back and all."_

_Harry was a little taken aback by this. He stuttered, "Err ... wait... so you do believe me about Voldemort's return?"_

_Lisa replied assuredly, "Of course I do, Harry. And I also do believe that if someone can stand up to him, it's you!"_

_Harry was pleased to hear this and uttered out a small, "Thanks" in response. There were only a few people who believed him about Voldemort's return, and he was happy that another name had been added to that list._

_Lisa spoke again, "So, I guess that does it. I feel much better, now that I have spoken to you. Thanks for forgiving me, Harry."_

_Harry responded, "Please don't you worry about it, Lisa. It wasn't that big a deal."_

_With that he made his way towards the door. Before he could reach, Lisa spoke again from behind,_

"_Harry, you are a wonderful guy. The stupid rumors about you are totally unfair. I know that you might be busy, but… uh ... would you mind if I owled you in the summer?"_

_He replied nonchalantly, "Nope. No problem at all''_

_Lisa gave him a smile and soon both of them went their own way._

END FLASHBACK

As soon as he got back to reality from his thoughts, he quietly put the letter on the sidetable of his bed.

Although he hadn't expected Lisa to owl, he was happy to have received the letter nonetheless. It was a welcome change from all the useless crap which his friends had been sending him.

Harry couldn't make up his mind whether to reply to her or not. Finally he decided that he'd do it the next morning.

With a huge yawn, he fell back on his bed and dozed off for another night of beautiful nightmares.

Harry got up the next morning to the barks of his uncle from the ground floor,

"Boy, get down here and cook us our breakfast!"

Harry quickly scurried out of bed, freshened up a little and headed downstairs. Within a few moments, he was making bacon and eggs for the entire Dursley family.

His uncle was getting impatient, "Hurry up, boy! I need to get to office on time. Everyone's not a lazy and good for nothing fool like your father."

Dudley snickered at this and Harry felt his blood boil with anger. He thought about beating both Vernon and Dudley to death with a frying pan, but he controlled his emotions.

He quickly made the breakfast and served it on the table. Vernon gave him a death glare and stated, "From tomorrow onwards, make sure that the breakfast is ready on time, you foolish boy."

Harry didn't even bother to respond. He quickly ate the small portion of bacon and eggs that he had served for himself, and left the table.

He headed up to his room and settled down on his bed. He was going to grab his copy of '_Quidditch through the ages_' for passive reading, when his gaze fell upon the letter on his bed's sidetable.

He grabbed the letter instead and went through it once again. He decided to compose a reply. After spending a good hour on it, he finally had a reply ready.

_Hey Lisa,_

_I wasn't really expecting you to write, but I have to say that I am rather pleased that you did._

_Well these days aren't that great, but I manage to live through them._

_As for the letter, thanks for your concern; I will look out for any trouble. Also, don't you feel afraid, be brave, nothing will happen to you._

_And do keep writing in and perhaps even tell me a bit about yourself, if you don't mind doing so._

_Waiting to hear back from you!_

_Harry_

He folded the letter and gave it to Hedwig. Hedwig had returned late in the night from her hunt, and wasn't too pleased on being given a letter to be delivered so early in the morning.

She gave a loud hoot to indicate her displeasure and flew out of the window. Harry sighed and sat back on his bed. He took out '_Quidditch through the ages_' and began reading it for the umpteenth time.

Harry spent the next couple of days mostly in his room, only going to the ground floor to either prepare breakfast or have his meals. His mood had turned from bad to worse. He had even stopped looking out for news regarding Voldemort's activities, as he was now convinced that there was none to be found. He was also aware that his birthday was coming in a week, and he didn't find the idea of spending it in a locked room very appealing.

On the morning of the third day however, when he got back to his room after preparing breakfast, he saw Henna sitting on the foot of his bed.

After giving her an owl treat, Harry sat back and opened the letter. He read:

_Hey Harry,_

_Your owl was looking quite displeased when she arrived at my place. Hope nothing is bothering you too much. Is there anything that I can do to help?_

_Harry, I don't know how you handle all of this. I've heard a lot about you from Neville, who is a close family friend. He can't stop raving about you. At first I felt he was exaggerating a lot, but now I guess that you deserve it. I just hope all this doesn't start getting on your nerves._

_As for me, I'm quite the simpleton, and people in my house actually call me 'Plain Jane'. I mostly like reading books and all. I haven't faced many dangers in life like you, but I guess I could be bold enough. _

_Like I mentioned in the previous letter, I can't wait for the vacations to get over. See you soon._

_Lisa_

Harry read and then re-read the letter. Lisa appeared to be a Ravenclaw version of Hermione. However, at least she did not seem to be as bossy as his female best friend.

He took out his quill and began writing immediately,

_Hey Lisa,_

_As regards your question, all I can say is that I stay with my Muggle relatives who are vile people. I just can't wait to get out of here. Sometimes I do envy your simple life. As you may be aware, I haven't ever been fortunate enough to live simple._

_Neville's your close family friend, really? Well, he failed to mention that. He's a fine guy. I didn't know he speaks about me so much. Well I guess that's a good thing, now that I've got a good friend in you._

_Well there's something bothering my mind too. I haven't been able to keep up with the news in the Wizarding World. I do get the Daily Prophet but it hasn't published anything about Voldemort's return. Have you noticed something out of the ordinary? Has there been anything in some other publication? If you come across anything, please let me know._

_Harry_

Harry gave the letter to Hedwig who then few off with it. He watched her fly away and then sat down so that he could complete some of his Transfiguration homework. As he had got a lot of time with nothing to do, he had already completed majority of his homework in other subjects.

He couldn't help but feel like a loser, when he realized that completing his homework was the only thing that he had done in the past few days.

The night before his birthday, Harry got a reply from Lisa. He quickly opened the letter and read:

_Hey Harry,_

_Neville is a rather dear friend and even I wish that he had mentioned me sooner. I usually spend part of the summer with him and his grandmother. I guess I'll be going there in a few days._

_There's no mention of You-Know-Who in the Daily Prophet. He seems to be keeping a low profile and there have been no attacks so far. But there are these crap articles being published about you. The next letter I am going to pen down is to their editor. I can't believe their outrageous behaviour._

_I will owl you if I come across any further news._

_Lisa_

Harry was quite surprised when he read the part about the slanderous articles about him. He quickly took out a couple of Daily Prophets from under his floorboard and glanced through them.

He used to just skim through the front page of the Prophet, expecting that any news about Voldemort will certainly be first page news. Because of that, he'd failed to notice the articles being printed about him on the back pages. As he read the articles, his face became red with rage.

The Prophet was trying to make him look like an attention-seeking brat. He felt like drowning the editor into a cauldron full of Hippogriff poop. He also wondered as to why Ron or Hermione had failed to mention the slander in their letters.

However, after reading a few articles, his temper subsided as he realized his complete helplessness in the situation. He put all the copies of the Prophet away, swearing to himself that he would burn them, whenever he got the chance. He took out his quill in order to reply to Lisa.

Just then, he heard a loud bark from outside his window. He got up from his bed and headed towards the window. When he looked out, he nearly fell out of the window in shock.

Standing near the door of the house, right next to his Uncle Vernon's car, was a shaggy black dog.

(A/N: Well, hope that you liked it.

I'm contemplating ideas about how to introduce Tracey into the picture. Any suggestions regarding that would be welcome.

Thanks for reading! Please review...

P.S: Am working on the final chapter of 'The Wrong Choice'. It should be up in a couple of days.)


	2. The Blacks' Den

Chapter 2

**The Blacks' Den**

_Standing near the door of the house, right next to his Uncle Vernon's car, was a shaggy black dog._

Harry muttered to himself, "Sirius, how ... What the hell?"

He gave a short wave and saw the dog look at him, before running off towards the bushes in the garden.

Harry opened the door of his room as quietly as he could and he tiptoed outside. He was trying his best to be as silent as possible, lest he wake up the meddling Dursleys'. He went down the stairs and opened the front door as discreetly as possible.

Soon, he found himself in the bushes and saw that his godfather had transformed to his human form. Before Harry could say anything, Sirius spoke,

"No questions now Harry, pack your stuff and be back in a jiffy!"

Harry paused for a moment, trying to put pieces together. Again Sirius hissed, "Now, Harry, now … there's no time to lose!"

Harry immediately went back and started packing his stuff. There were a lot of questions running through his mind but he decided to keep those aside for a moment as he concentrated on his packing.

It didn't take him long and soon he was packed and ready. He picked up Hedwig's cage as well as his trunk and gave the room a look over to see whether he had forgotten anything.

After ensuring that he hadn't, he quickly headed downstairs and was next to his Godfather within a few moments.

Sirius looked at him and gave him a smile, "Good timing, Harry. Now, let your owl fly instead of carrying her in the cage. She'll find us at the place where we are going."

Harry asked, "And where are we going?"

Sirius replied, "Not here, Harry. I'll let you know everything soon."

Harry nodded and opened Hedwig's cage. He told her to find him and let her fly away. When he looked down again, he noticed a man's limp body on the ground behind his Godfather.

The man looked ragged and wore torn clothes. It seemed as if he hadn't had a bath for quite a few days.

He asked, "Sirius, whose body is that? Is he dead?"

Sirius started laughing at the very idea of the man being dead. He soon managed to stop and responded,

"No, Harry. He's not dead. His name is Mundungus Fletcher and he's just unconscious because I knocked him on the head with this thing which I found in one of the alleys."

He pointed to a rod lying on the ground. Harry noticed that the rod was made of steel and immediately started worrying about the man's well being.

He asked, "Why did you need to do that? That rod might have killed him."

Sirius replied, "Don't worry. He'll be fine. I didn't hit him that hard."

Harry was still a bit unconvinced. Sirius noticed the look on uncertainty on Harry's face and reassured him, "I'll answer all your questions, Harry. For now atleast, let's go."

Harry nodded in agreement. Sirius saw the nod and soon began to outline the basic plan for him,

"Now, listen carefully Harry. There are wards over your entire house. We cannot get out of here in any other way than the Muggle way, and that is by walking. So, I'm going to transform into my canine form again and you're going to follow me to an alley which is a few blocks from this place. Keep to the side of the street and even if you see anything suspicious, think twice before using your wand. Once we reach the alley, we'll be heading towards our destination. Is that understood?"

Harry replied with as much enthusiasm as he could muster, "Yes, Sirius!"

Sirius grinned at him and transformed into his animagus form. He walked out of garden and out on to the street. Harry followed him as cautiously as he possible could, sticking to the shadows like he had been instructed.

He had no idea as to why he was being led away in such a secretive manner. Was it because of Voldemort? Had Dumbledore arranged for this? Had it anything to do with Hermione and Ron's strange behaviour of late? He only hoped that in time he would get his answers.

Soon, Harry saw Sirius taking a turn and followed him into an alley. Sirius stopped and retransformed into his human form. He asked Harry,

"So, are you ready for some well deserved freedom, Harry?"

Harry nodded fervently in response. Sirius smiled when he saw the eagerness on his godson's face. He took out his wand from his robes and pointed it at Harry's trunk. He muttered a spell and soon Harry found that his heavy trunk was as light as a feather.

Harry couldn't help but feel a little annoyed, "Thank you for that, Sirius. But couldn't you have done that before I had dragged this heavy trunk all the way here?"

Sirius responded, "Sorry, pup. There are even magic-detection wards surrounding your place. It'd have been too risky."

Harry understood and muttered out, "Oh... ok"

Sirius spoke again, "Ok then, time to go, Harry. Hold onto my arm. I'll be side apparating you."

Harry was confused, "Is that even possible?"

Sirius replied, "Yes it is, Harry. Now hold on quick."

Harry did as he was told and held onto Sirius' extended arm.

Suddenly, he felt Sirius's arm twist away from him and he redoubled his grip. The next thing he knew, everything went black; and he was being pressed very hard from all directions; he could not breathe, there was tightening around his chest; his eyeballs were being forced into his head; his eardrums were being pushed deeper into his skull and then...

He suddenly found himself breathing in the cold air and opened his streaming eyes. He felt as though he had just been forced through a very tight rubber tube.

It was a few seconds before he realized that the alley in Privet Drive had vanished. He and Sirius were now standing on the seashore next to an old and wrecked fishing dinghy.

"What the heck?" thought Harry, "Couldn't he at least have picked a better hiding place?"

But Harry was anxious to know why all of this was transpiring. So for the moment, he decided to ignore the state of the dinghy.

To his surprise, when he went to board the dinghy, he noticed that Hedwig was perched on one of the sides. He shot a questioning look at Sirius.

Sirius saw the look and explained, "Oh, this place is not really far from your Uncle's house. I knew she'd find us here. It's not advisable to side apparate with any type of bird or animal. That's why I asked you to let her fly."

Harry couldn't help but feel that there was a lot about the Wizarding World that he didn't know. He nodded to Sirius and ushered the owl inside her empty cage.

Sirius acknowledged the nod and boarded the dinghy. Harry followed him. He climbed up precariously, for the old dinghy was worn out badly and had several broken sharp edges.

As soon as he had climbed up, he saw Sirius standing on the front deck and uttering some weird incantation.

The dinghy started to steer out into the open sea by itself. Then, Sirius led Harry inside the cabin.

The inside of the cabin was nothing like the outside. It was spacious and luxurious with ample lighting, well carved wooden furniture and other amenities. Harry's face lit up as soon as he saw all of this. He sat on one of the beds opposite to Sirius who took the other bed.

Sirius spoke first, "Well, so how have you being doing, Harry? Have you made your peace with what happened at the end of last year?"

Harry replied "Yeah. It has been difficult, but I guess I had to."

Sirius nodded and said, "That's good to know, Harry."

After a minute of silence, Harry couldn't control himself any longer. He blurted out, "Sirius, why hasn't anything been reported in the Prophet about Voldemort's return? Even Hermione and Ron are acting strange these days. They seem to be hiding things from me. No one, not even Dumbledore has approached me regarding anything. I just don't understand what's happening."

Sirius looked at his godson for a moment. He sighed and said, "Listen, what I tell you now is very important. He's after you, Harry. Voldemort's moving quickly now, plotting to kill you and get his revenge. But he doesn't want the Wizarding world to take notice..."

Harry interrupted, "What? But surely Dumbledore must be doing something about it?"

Sirius continued, "Dumbledore and some others are planning strategies to counter Voldemort's plan, but I don't think that they are going to work. Frankly speaking, as of today, I have lost faith in Dumbledore's judgement."

Harry gaped at this. He couldn't believe what his godfather was saying.

How could the judgement of Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of all times, the person whom the entire Wizarding world looked upon, not be good enough for his godfather?

Then Sirius said, "I know that this might have rattled you, but it is the truth, and I wouldn't lie to you. I have to explain a few more things to you but I think that we should wait a bit for that, atleast till all this information sinks in."

Harry nodded in appreciation. He was happy that Sirius had stopped where he had. He was actually finding all this information too much to take in at one time.

However, the fear in his heart was showing on his face. He couldn't hide it, however hard he tried.

On seeing Harry's face, Sirius decided to cheer him up a bit. He said, "Look there's no need to worry for now. I am taking you to a place where you can be safe, at least for the time being. We will be reaching there soon."

Harry found himself relaxing a bit. He asked, "Where are we going, Sirius?"

Sirius winked and said, "Wait and watch."

Sirius then got up and went outside on to the deck. Harry remained where he was, contemplating what his godfather had just said. He had many more questions to ask, but decided that it was in his best interest to remain quiet.

It was already nearing 11 pm and Harry was falling asleep. He knew that the next day was his birthday, but he couldn't stay awake any longer. He removed his shoes to lie down on the comfortable bed, and dozed off immediately.

After a while, Harry woke up with a start. He didn't know how much time had elapsed. He walked out of the cabin and onto the main deck. There he saw his godfather staring out into the horizon.

"Ah, you're awake. Wish you a very Happy Birthday, Harry!"

Sirius gave him a hug and Harry managed to mutter out a small, "Thanks."

After a few seconds, Harry spoke, "Well, I can honestly say that this is the birthday that am looking forward to the most."

Sirius couldn't help but feel saddened on hearing this. He really wished that things could have worked out better for Harry, and that he would have been able to have normal birthdays like other kids.

However, he didn't let the sadness show on his face. He stated,

"Don't worry, Harry. What I'm about to show you will ensure that this is one of your best birthdays ever. We're almost there."

Harry looked all around him. For miles and miles around lay an endless expanse of water. He couldn't see any possible landing place. Where was the place that Sirius was referring to?

At last Sirius muttered another incantation and this caused the dinghy to stop. Sirius proceeded to remove a piece of parchment from his pocket and hand it over to Harry. Then, he pointed his wand towards the surface of the sea and murmured something.

Harry took the parchment and read it,

"_The Blacks' Den is located on the Isle of Duraine."_

Harry couldn't make head or tail of the piece of parchment in front of him. But then he heard something.

The sea water began churning and swivelling at the place where Sirius had pointed his wand. Slowly, it was becoming more and more turbulent. Soon, the water all around them started foaming and gurgling.

Then Harry saw that a small piece of rock began surfacing at the point where Sirius had pointed his wand, just like the fin of a submarine. Slowly and slowly, more and more land mass surfaced until finally an entire island rose up, shooting into the sky.

Harry couldn't believe his eyes. He rubbed them and then pinched himself to ensure that this was not a dream.

The island was like a huge mountain made of solid rock with a single large peak and a huge mass of land in the shape of a horseshoe, surrounding it. There were no plants or vegetation growing on it save a few green patches of moss here and there. The sea water was receding from the numerous crevices and caves formed along the shores of the island.

Harry stood mystified by the sight. It was beautiful as well as freaky. Sirius cast another spell and the dinghy started moving towards one of the caves formed along the shore. Its mouth measured almost twenty foot in height and thirty foot in width.

The dinghy entered easily but as they moved inside, the cave became more and more narrow. Finally the dinghy came to a dead end inside the cave and stopped.

Here Sirius jumped out of the boat and walked towards the wall of solid rock, still wet with the sea water. Sirius placed his hand over it and closed his eyes, saying something like a password. Upon this, the rocks parted, making a small entrance.

Sirius beckoned to Harry, who was still on the dinghy, "Get in here quick, the island will soon submerge again and you may find yourself in trouble."

Harry complied immediately. He got his belongings out of the dinghy and ran for the small opening. Sirius, who was already inside, greeted him,

"Welcome to the Blacks' Den!"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Albus Dumbledore was not having the best of days. He was seated in the dining room of Grimmauld Place, the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, a rebel organisation which he had restarted after coming to know about the resurrection of Lord Voldemort.

He looked up when he heard a sound and saw that another person had entered the room.

He spoke to the other person, "Ah, Remus. I have been waiting for you. Please have a seat."

Remus Lupin did as he was asked to and sat on one of chairs. Dumbledore looked at him and then looked at the door. He gave a flick of his wand and the door to the dining room slammed shut.

Remus just looked at the shut door with an impassive face.

After a few moments of silence, Dumbledore asked him, "So Remus, tell me where has Sirius gone off to?"

Remus replied in an emotionless tone, "I have no idea."

Dumbledore tried again, "Oh come on, Remus. He's your best friend. Surely he must have told you."

Remus replied in the same tone, "He didn't."

Dumbledore was getting irritated now, "Don't play games with me, Remus. It's not safe for him out there. I have to get him back."

Remus responded, "Even if I knew where he was, I wouldn't tell you."

Dumbledore managed to keep his rising temper under control. He spoke in his best grandfatherly voice,

"Ah, it's apparent from your behaviour that you have heard about our little misunderstanding. So, I think it's safe to say that he did talk to you before leaving."

Remus responded in a cold tone, "Yes, he did. And I bet you'd love to know what we talked about. It's a pity that you can't use Legilimency on a werewolf eh, Albus?"

Albus was having a hard time keeping his temper in check. He hissed, "Did he go to Harry?"

For the first time in the conversation a grin appeared on Remus' face. He responded, "Well, Albus, that's for me to know and you to find out."

Dumbledore's usually smiling face contorted with rage. On seeing this, the grin on Remus' face grew bigger.

"Oh, and I just struck around to show you this..."

As soon as he said this, he showed his middle finger to Dumbledore and exclaimed,

"Screw you, you mangy old coot!"

Before Dumbledore could react, Remus Lupin had apparated out of Grimmauld Place.

Albus Dumbledore was stunned at Lupin's sudden disappearance, but managed to compose himself.

He decided to apparate directly to the room which he knew Harry Potter stayed in. He was the only one who had been keyed into the wards, as he was the one who had created them.

He alone was supposed to have access to the boy when he was at his relatives place. He didn't think that Black was smart enough to be able to contact Harry Potter and get him out of there.

He appeared in the smallest bedroom in the Dursley's house and looked around, expecting to find Harry sleeping on his bed. His worst nightmare was realized when he found the room to be completely empty.

In a rage, he went around all the rooms of the house, looking for any sign of the boy, but the end result was the same: He couldn't find him.

He realized the reason behind Lupin staying back at Grimmauld Place. The goddamned werewolf's only intent was to waste his time, so that Sirius Black could escape with Harry.

He exclaimed in fury and let out a swear word which one would have never expected to hear from the Hogwarts Headmaster's mouth.

He decided to look around the nearby areas like the park, but inside his heart he knew that the boy was gone.

He took one look around the place and apparated out.

Even after Dumbledore's departure, the Dursley's kept on sleeping peacefully.

They had still not gotten wind of Harry's escape or of Dumbledore's subsequent search of their house.

A few hours after Dumbledore's departure from Privet Drive, two hooded figures crept out from the windows of the house where Harry lived.

The night was cold and soon an eerie silence hung about the Dursley residence.

A couple of dementors had just sucked the souls of the entire Dursley family.

(A/N: Well, that's that for the second chapter.

The final chapter of 'The Wrong Choice' has also been simultaneously uploaded.

Please Review!)


	3. Raucous Revelations

Chapter 3

**Raucous Revelations**

The next morning, Cornelius Fudge was sipping coffee in his spacious office. He was leaning back in his chair and tending to his regular Ministry work.

There had been no sign indicating the return of the Dark Lord, as suggested by the stupid pet of Dumbledore, that insolent Potter brat. The support of the majority of the magical population was with the Ministry and he doubted that anybody would ever believe what Potter said anymore, especially after he had the Daily Prophet portray him as just another attention seeking teenager.

Meanwhile the biggest threat to his rank, none other than the great Albus Dumbledore himself, had been conveniently sacked from nearly all the positions of power in the Wizarding World. All that remained was a plan to have Dumbledore removed as the Hogwarts Headmaster, and then he could be rest assured that the old fool would not meddle in the matters of the Ministry anymore.

As he contemplated over all the good things in life, the woman sitting in front of him glanced at him inquisitively. As if by intuition, Fudge noticed it and asked "Dolores, How's the Prophet's stand on Potter going? Are the news articles doing well?"

Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister gave a high pitched squeak. She responded by saying, "Oh yes, Minister. You might have noticed that yesterday's Prophet carried a lovely article on evil parselmouths' and how Potter was well on his way to becoming one. If I remember correctly, today's Prophet would cover his troubled childhood and how that has pushed him towards behaving insanely."

Fudge couldn't keep the smile off his face, "Excellent job, Dolores. That is indeed great work. Also pass on my compliments to the editor of the Prophet. His name's Lawrence something right?"

Umbridge, mindful of the Minister's forgetful nature, immediately corrected him, "No Minister, His name's Gray Lawson and his assistance to us in the past few days has been to our utmost advantage. I'll most definitely pass on your good wishes."

Fudge nodded and relaxed for a bit before asking, "So, Dolores, do we have any other ideas to keep the boy on a leash?"

She replied, "Oh most certainly, yes. I have a couple of them, Minister. I think that we should – "

But before she could finish, she was interrupted by the sound of the office door being slammed open, and Percy Weasley running inside.

Fudge exclaimed, "Weasley! What's the meaning of this? Don't you have the sense to knock before entering?"

Percy Weasley composed himself and responded, "I'm really sorry, Minister, but this news had to reach you at the earliest. Dementors attacked a Muggle residence last night. And what's worse is that the Muggles were none other than the relatives of Harry Potter!"

Fudge sat bolt upright in his chair. Percy went on, "All three Muggles had their souls sucked out, Minister. We have no idea about what happened to Potter, but his relatives are now dead."

Fudge just sat there, completely shocked into silence. He knew that the attack of Dementors on an unsuspecting Muggle family, would not do down well with the Wizarding Public.

He immediately asked, "But how do we know that it were the dementors? Are there any witnesses?"

Percy Weasley replied, "There is a witness, Minister. There's this neighbour who was taking an early morning walk. She's a squib whose name is Arabella Figg."

Fudge just stared back at Weasley, a distinct fear clearly visible in his eyes. The last thing he would have expected was a witness to a Dementor attack in a muggle neighbourhood.

He ordered Percy, "Get her here as soon as possible!"

Percy replied, "Minister, she is already here. She was the one who reported the attacks. She's currently in our interrogation rooms, under the care of the Head of our Auror Department, Rufus Scrimgeour."

Fudge had almost started to shiver by now. Scrimgeour was the perhaps the last person in the Ministry, who he would have wanted the woman to get into contact with. The Head Auror was rumoured to be after his job, and had a reputation of being quite a stickler when it came to following rules.

However, he also knew that he had to act as soon as possible. But for that, he had to get access to the squib first. He got up from his chair and ordered, "Come with me, Weasley."

With that, he strode out of his office and Percy Weasley tagged along behind him, leaving Umbridge alone in the office. As soon as they had gone, the grim expression on her face turned to one of utter glee.

After checking to ensure that there was no one in sight, Dolores Umbridge closed the door of the office and then walked up towards the fireplace.

She took a bit of floo powder in her hand and threw it inside the fireplace. She stepped inside and called out her destination. Within a moment, she was gone.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Harry was way too tired and sleepy when he had reached the Blacks' Den. On seeing his state, Sirius had immediately shown him to his room. For the first time in months, Harry Potter had slept peacefully, with the comfortable breeze of the sea flowing in.

Harry woke up the next morning to find himself in a very comfortable bed. It took him a moment or two to realize that he was sleeping in the king-sized four poster bed in one of the rooms in the Blacks' Den.

He got up from the bed and went to the attached bathroom to freshen up a bit. The bathroom's design was evidently influenced with underwater aquatic life, replete with corals and shells and other creatures of the deep. Soon, he headed downstairs towards where he hoped the kitchen was.

On the way down, he stopped to look at the various floors of the beautiful mansion he was in. The den was somehow very brightly lit for an underwater piece of rock. But unlike the shapeless mass that it was from the outside, the inside looked like tall cubical rooms designed like an ancient gothic church. The roof was supported by high arches and round pillars with carvings of wizards and goddesses etched into the stone. Everywhere you could see a few paintings of enormous length and breadth on different underwater sceneries. But the floor was the most strangest of all. It appeared as if it were a mirror, such that it reflected exactly what was above, giving the appearance that the room was twice as big. But out of some strange illusion, it seemed not to reflect any living beings, just material objects.

Harry had little trouble finding the kitchen. But as soon as he went inside, there was another surprise waiting for him.

He took one look at the table and exclaimed, "Professor Lupin!"

Remus Lupin, who was busy reading a book, looked up at Harry's voice and a smile came onto his face. He got up from the table and walked up towards Harry.

He gave the boy a hug before saying, "Harry, it's really good to see you. I wish you a very Happy Birthday!"

Harry responded in kind, "Thank you. It's great to see you too, Professor Lupin. When did you get here?"

Remus replied, "First of all, I am not your professor anymore, Harry. So, feel free to call me by my first name."

Harry just smiled back. He was very happy to see Lupin there. Remus continued, "As for the answer to your second question, I got here late last night, a little while after you did."

Harry asked, "So how did you get here? Did you apparate here or something? Isn't this place actually underwater?"

Sirius, who was sitting on the table, was the one who replied, "That's not possible, Harry. This place is protected by ancient and strong anti-apparition wards. The only way in or out is the way we came in."

Harry looked at Lupin again and said, "Oh ok. So you came by boat too. But tell me; how did you know where to find this place; with the island being submerged most of the time?"

Sirius replied, "I know you have a lot of questions Harry, but first tell me what do you want for breakfast? How about eggs and bacon, with some yummy coleslaw sandwiches? How's that sound?"

Harry grinned, "I'm starving. Right now, I'd eat anything!"

Sirius summoned an elf and started giving him instructions for breakfast. Harry couldn't recognize the elf and assumed that it must be the Den's own private elf.

After finishing the instructions, Sirius turned back to Harry to answer his question, "The Black's Den is one of the most secretive places in the magical world. The entire island is under a unique and advanced Fidelius Charm which was developed by my Great-Grandfather, Arcturus Black. Even great and powerful wizards like Dumbledore and Voldemort don't know of its existence as this island is one of the Black family's most well kept secrets. For generations, this amazing island was completely forgotten, until one day I stumbled upon this information in one of the ancient ledgers kept in the Black Family library, back in my ancestral home. "

Before Harry could say anything, Remus, as if reading Harry's thoughts, spoke, "The Blacks' ancestral home is located on the mainland. We can't speak the name of the place, because it too is under a Fidelius Charm and the Secret Keeper is none other than Dumbledore himself. "

Harry was impressed, but at the same time he was confused. His Godfather was the owner of this amazing Island which was the next best thing to a perfect hideout, as well as another house back in London. But then again, why would he make Dumbledore its secret keeper?

Last night, Sirius had made a mention to Harry about his rift with Dumbledore. It didn't make any sense. However in his mind he dreamily drew a picture of visiting the Blacks' ancestral home. If the hideout was so breathtaking, then there was no telling how good that place would be!

But Harry immediately snapped out of his thoughts and voiced his doubt, "But Sirius, It doesn't make sense. Why did you make him the Secret Keeper to your ancestral home, if you no longer have faith in him?"

Both Sirius and Remus were expecting this question from Harry. Sirius looked at Remus, who gave him a nod. Sirius then came and sat close to where Remus was sitting and beckoned Harry to do the same. Harry obeyed, and then looked towards them in anticipation.

But before either Sirius or Remus could start anything, there was a loud pop. Then it was followed by another couple of simultaneous pops. Three elves stood there carrying breakfast trays. All of them looked old and grim, but the one who had appeared first looked a little more cheerful. It seemed that he was a little pleased to have a Black in the house after a long period of time.

The elves set up their breakfast and, as quickly as they came, they vanished back with loud pops. They didn't utter a single word. But Harry could swear that when they came, he saw that they were all staring at him …

Remus interrupted Harry's train of thoughts, "Harry, what do you know about the Order of the Phoenix?"

Harry just stared back at him, the confusion evident in his eyes. This was getting bizarre now. After a few moments, he replied, "I've never heard of it."

Remus had been almost certain that this would be the response. He explained, "Harry, the Order of the Phoenix is a vigilante group which was started by Albus Dumbledore during the first war against Voldemort. All of us, including your parents, were members of that organisation. We used to undertake dangerous operations, just for the sole purpose of thwarting Voldemort's activities."

Remus paused for a moment, looking at Harry to see if the teen was following so far. On seeing his interested look, Sirius was the one who came forward and said, "The organization was disbanded when Voldemort was vanquished by you, Harry, and each of us went our own ways, hoping that we would never have to reform again. However, as soon as you saw Voldemort come back at the end of last year, Dumbledore restarted the organization. Our numbers were greatly reduced due to the losses in the first war, but we still had a decent number of people in the organisation. I offered my ancestral home as the Headquarters and Dumbledore accepted. He put the house under the Fidelius and made himself the Secret Keeper."

Harry nodded, acknowledging this new information. However, it seemed as if Sirius was not finished,

"It wasn't long before the entire Weasley family shifted into my ancestral home. Then later on in the month, your friend, Hermione Granger, also came to stay over. The other Order members were all made aware of the location and they used to keep popping in occasionally."

Harry exclaimed, "Wow, Dumbledore commands a legion of the best wizards to fight Voldemort and his forces!"

Sirius paused for a bit to take a bite out of his coleslaw sandwich. He continued again, paying no heed to Harry's comment, "But this time the organization is not functioning the way it should. All that we were asked to do was to keep tabs on people who were rumoured to be Voldemort's supporters. And I was ordered by Dumbledore personally to stay inside my own house for the majority of the time. Can you imagine that? The house arrest was nearly driving me insane. But a couple of days back, something happened which changed my entire outlook towards Dumbledore. I overheard a conversation between him and Ron's mother, Molly Weasley..."

FLASHBACK

_Sirius who had just finished feeding Buckbeak was heading down the stairs, towards the kitchen. He came to the first floor landing, and was about to go down again, when he heard Molly Weasley's high pitched voice from the room adjacent to the stairs._

_He stopped for a moment and just stood there, trying to listen. However, he couldn't decipher what was being said and decided to move closer to the room. After taking a few steps, he could hear the conversation which was slightly muffled due to the door being shut._

_Molly was saying, "You can't do this to us, Dumbledore. My son has already become a target by becoming friends with that boy. We had obliged to their friendship on your request. And now, you want my little girl to become his plaything? That's completely unacceptable!"_

_Sirius attention was aroused when he heard that. He took a few steps more, so that the conversation would become clearer._

_He heard Dumbledore's reply, "Now then, Molly, you know that it's all for the Greater Good. If Ginevra became close to him, we could have better access to his thoughts and also a higher degree of control over him."_

_Molly responded, "I don't care, Albus. He's been marked for death by none other than You-Know-who himself. If it weren't for our poor conditions, I'd never even allow my son to talk to a person like him. And I certainly am not going to risk my daughter's life for the measly 50 Galleons a week which I withdraw from his family vaults!"_

_There was a momentary silence in the room, before Albus spoke again, "If you accept my proposal, as soon as he dies, your daughter will be legally entitled to complete access to the Potter vaults. Just imagine the kind of money you could lay your hands to, Molly. As you know already, the Potter's were one of the richest families in Great Britain. And I think that should be reasonable enough for you."_

_Molly, whose resolve seemed to be crumbling, wasn't ready to give up without a fight, "Alright Dumbledore, I'll tell Ginevra to try using the love potion. However, I now demand to withdraw at least 100 Galleons a week. Nothing less!"_

_Dumbledore knew that he had no choice but to agree, "All right do it, Molly. It's not as if Harry checks his Gringotts statements anyways!"_

_After a few moments, Sirius heard footsteps coming towards the door of the room. He hurriedly got away from the door and went down the stairs. As soon as he reached the ground floor, he heard the door of the room open. Within a few seconds, he saw Dumbledore descending down the stairs._

_The old man spotted Sirius and gave him a smile before heading into the sitting room._

END FLASHBACK

While Sirius told him about the conversation which he had overheard, Harry stood aghast, as if the world he knew had come to an end. He couldn't believe that the Weasley's, who were like family to him, could do such a thing to him. He also couldn't come to terms with the fact that Dumbledore, the man whom he trusted more than anyone else, was from the very beginning, manipulating his life. And what disturbed him the most was the fact that they were all doing this for his wealth, not even for some self conceited feeling of righteousness.

Sirius then told him about how he had followed Dumbledore to the sitting room and confronted him regarding what he had overheard. Dumbledore had just responded to him by saying that he had everything under control and that it was all going to work out for the Greater Good.

It hadn't taken Sirius long to realise that it was his anger that had led him to confront Dumbledore, and that it was perhaps not the wisest thing to do. He also knew that, at that point of time, he had no option but to agree with what Dumbledore said, and so he had pretended to do as was required by him.

But the very next day, Sirius had spoken with Remus regarding the treachery and together they hatched the plan for him to escape, from his own home. As soon as Dumbledore had left the Headquarters for some work at Hogwarts, Sirius had apparated out. Remus had stayed on to hold off Dumbledore for some more time, before making his own getaway.

On hearing all of this, Harry was unable to keep a check on his emotions, and tears started flowing down his cheeks. Remus went and sat next to him, trying to provide comfort to the boy by putting an arm around his shoulders.

It took quite a long time for Harry's tears to subside. After he composed himself, he asked, "So, were all the Weasley's a part of this plan?"

Sirius replied, the sadness evident in his voice, "As far I am aware, the answer would be yes, Harry."

Harry felt completely sickened. But he still had another question, "What about Hermione? Is she a part of Dumbledore's scheme too? Is that why she hasn't been responding properly to my letters?"

Sirius responded, "I know that she hasn't been giving you any information in the letters because of Dumbledore's orders. As regards her involvement in the plan, I seriously have no idea about it. And before you ask, as of right now, we have no way to ascertain what her side of the story is."

Harry just sat there, uncertain of what to do or say. His life had just taken a major turn in the past few hours and he was finding it increasingly difficult to come to terms with all the changes that had taken place. He couldn't have imagined a more eventful birthday than this. He could only hope that his female best friend wasn't a part of Dumbledore's deception.

He was snapped out of his reverie by the sound of Remus speaking, "Harry, there's another important thing that we have to tell you. Both of us have taken a decision and we think it's for the best."

Harry looked at Remus, praying to Merlin that this wasn't another piece of bad news.

However, it was Sirius who spoke, "Harry, there are a lot of people out there, who are after your blood. Please don't hate us for this, as we had no choice but to take this decision. I am really sorry to say this, Harry, but you are not going back to Hogwarts."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Dumbledore looked grave, as he sat pondering over the recent events, in his office at Hogwarts. He had just removed the memory of his latest encounter with Remus and stored it in a vial, in case he needed it for future reference.

Things were looking a little bleak for him at the moment, as Harry was nowhere to be found. To make matters worse, his escape from Privet Drive had been orchestrated by two powerful Order members – Sirius and Remus, who were now absconding themselves.

It had already been difficult keeping things under control for the Order and now this problem had added to his woes.

Recruiting new members was getting tedious, for everyone was weary and afraid of Voldemort. As it is, without the Ministry's recognition of his return, very few people were ready to believe Potter's testimony.

And to make matters worse, Sirius had gotten a hint of his manipulations in young Harry's life. Now, Sirius was with Harry, and he would surely have told Harry all about it. And Dumbledore knew that once Harry's fragile mind was convinced, it would be difficult to earn his trust again.

He also knew that if he had his way, things would most certainly be different. The younger generation needed to understand that this was all a part of his grand plan to defeat Voldemort. They had to be made aware that it was he who had years and years of experience, and that it was his judgement that they should be trusting.

They had no idea of Voldemort's true abilities, or the depths of his dark magical powers. If Voldemort was to be beaten, sacrifices had to be made. Once people saw the greater good, they would surely understand.

Dumbledore was just contemplating about his next move, when the fireplace turned emerald green and the figure of an autocratic woman stepped into his office. His floo network was a restricted one, and only a person of immense importance could have used it. Who could it be?

Looking at the person, Dumbledore became graver, "Now what? Why would she be here?"

However, Dumbledore knew that he had to be polite and said, "Welcome Madam Undersecretary, I must say that I am certainly gladdened by your arrival."

Dolores Umbridge gave a broad smile and responded, "Thank you Professor. I have news which is of utmost importance to our agreement."

FLASHBACK

_Dolores was looking at the portrait of the pussy, the one she had recently hung on the wall of her office in the Ministry of Magic. It was early in the morning, and she had just arrived from home. As soon as she had gotten to her office, she had prepared a little warm cup of tea for herself. She had taken a few sips of her extra sweet beverage, when the door opened and Dumbledore walked in._

_Dolores was rather surprised to see Dumbledore in her office and that too so early in the morning. She placed the cup of tea on her desk, rose and extended her hand to Dumbledore, "Good Morning Prof. Dumbledore. What brings you here so early?"_

_Dumbledore shook her hand back. Still clasping her hand with both of his hands, Dumbledore stated, "Dolores, Something has to be done. Fudge must see reason. Voldemort is really back."_

_Umbridge just looked back at him blankly. She somehow knew what would follow._

_She clearly remembered that two days ago she had gotten the news that a Hogwarts student, Cedric Diggory, had returned back dead in the arms of Harry Potter, after the Final task of the Triwizard tournament._

_The very next day Dumbledore had summoned a meeting of the Wizengamot. There he had carried out a motion to implore the ministry to accept the fact that the dark lord was back, and that Harry Potter had testified to it. The Ministry of course had downright refused it, for lack of evidence. But Dumbledore clearly hadn't lost hope._

_Dolores replied bluntly, "I am sorry, Dumbledore. The official position of the Ministry and the Minister cannot be changed unless you have concrete evidence. In fact, I am surprised that a distinguished wizard such as yourself would fall for a stupid lie like that."_

_Dumbledore replied, "The evidence is everywhere. You have just refused to see it …"_

_But Umbridge wasn't buying it, "Dumbledore, I have other pressing matters at hand. Important matters related to Ministry work. It would be nice of you to let go, both of your worthless pursuit and of my hand!"_

_Dumbledore was embarrassed, and he immediately released her hands which he had been holding on to since the start of their conversation. He then looked into her eyes and knew that he hadn't succeeded yet. After waiting for a few moments, he took his leave from her office._

_Over the next few days, Dumbledore repeatedly tried coaxing various Ministry officials to join his cause. Some budged, but majority of them didn't. He knew that he was not going to get anywhere if he hadn't the support of the majority of the ministry with him. He also knew that the only way of doing that was to convince Fudge. However, rather than seeing reason, Fudge wasn't even granting Dumbledore an audience._

_Finally, Dumbledore had conceded that the only way out was to somehow convince the next highest authority to the Minister, namely the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister – Dolores Umbridge._

_A few days after their meeting at the Ministry, Dumbledore decided to drop by her home, late in the night._

_Dolores, surprised to see him at her doorstep, exclaimed, "Now, Albus, don't you think that you are crossing boundaries here?"_

_To that Dumbledore responded, "Dolores, these times have made me desperate, and I don't know who else to see except for you."_

_Umbridge wasn't sure as to what to say to that. She paused to find the right words, but Dumbledore spoke first, "Dolores, would you at least allow me to come inside? We really need to talk. I promise that I won't take much of your time. "_

_After saying that, Dumbledore didn't even bother to wait for her reply, and barged into her house. Dolores didn't try to stop him either._

_Dumbledore sat on the couch and motioned to Umbridge to come and sit beside him. Umbridge, exercising a little caution, closed the door and sat down on the chair opposite to him._

_Dumbledore spoke first, "Dolores, in the Ministry you are bound by your office. But here you can become more open and free. That is why I came here to see you."_

_Umbridge didn't say anything so Dumbledore continued, "It has begun all over again - the sudden disappearances of people, unexplainable fatal accidents and other things, just like the last time that he rose to power. Voldemort is recruiting new forces and is constantly on the move. If the Wizarding world does not unite, we will all fall under him. The Ministry has to stand up against him!"_

_He paused for a moment, looking towards Umbridge for a reaction. On getting a blank look in response, he continued, "However Cornelius refuses to see reason. He is so blind and oblivious to Voldemort's return that he has actually decided to ignore the obvious facts. In such a case, you are the only one who can get the Minister to do something before it's too late. I know that the Minister consults you on almost all matters."_

_Umbridge looked at him and responded, "Come on, Albus. Why are you so adamant over that Potter thing? You have already lost all your powers and positions in the Wizarding circles. Now, why do you want to risk losing the last remaining ounce of respect you have, over the silly fantasies of a stupid boy?"_

_Dumbledore replied, "But it's not just him, Dolores. I have been doing a little investigation myself, and all things point to only one fact – the fact that the dark lord has returned, and that this time if we don't act soon enough, he's going to cause much more damage than before."_

_Umbridge thought over it for some time. Finally she spoke, "Albus, there is no person in this world who can convince Fudge, once he's set his mind on something, but I will give it a try. However if you really want to have it completely your way, then there is no other way except if you become the Minister yourself!"_

_Dumbledore had worked out a little theory himself. He just smiled and asked, "Would you support my cause, if I helped you to become the new Minister?"_

_Umbridge gaped at this. She hadn't expected this from Dumbledore. She had always had great ambitions and did see herself as the Minister at some point of time in the future. However, she didn't think that she would have a chance at fulfilling her dreams so soon. And right now, if she played her cards right, she had an excellent opportunity to grab the chance with both hands._

_Dumbledore saw the greed in her eyes and he knew that he had hit her weak spot. However Umbridge composed herself and asked, "What exactly do you mean by that?"_

_Dumbledore stood up, for he had now got his answer. He just said, "Dolores, I would like to propose something to you. If we work together, I will do everything in my power to make you the Minister. In return, you will agree to recognize the fact that the dark lord is back and utilize the Ministry resources to thwart him. Are we in agreement?"_

_Umbridge's mind yielded to the temptation. Her thoughts started racing over the prospects of her realizing her long awaited goal. She didn't like the fact that she had to depend on Dumbledore for it. But she thought the end more than justified the means. Besides, without Dumbledore's help, she might never able to get what she wanted._

_Dumbledore wasn't particularly too pleased about having Umbridge as the new Minister. But he had no other choice. Besides all he was doing was for the greater good._

_Umbridge stood up as well and nodded her head, "I gladly accept your terms Dumbledore."_

_Dumbledore made his way out. Just as he stepped outside the door Umbridge rushed from behind and asked him, "But what about Fudge?"_

_Dumbledore looked at her and replied, "We will find a way to get rid of him."_

END FLASHBACK

Dumbledore looked at her with interest. What news was she going to deliver that could possibly be that important?

Umbridge spoke, glowing with excitement, "Albus, a couple of dementors just killed Potter's muggle relatives. All of them!"

Dumbledore was shocked on hearing this. The Dursleys are dead, he thought. This was the worst possible news that he could possibly get. How could this have happened?

However, before he could question Umbridge regarding the incident, she spoke again, "Listen, Albus, I know, you are close to the boy and all. But this is a golden opportunity for us. You better get a hold of yourself. This may well be the death warrant for Fudge."

Dumbledore was started on hearing that. He spoke in a contemplative voice, "What had this to do with Fudge?"

Umbridge gloated even more than before. Even the great Albus Dumbledore couldn't figure this one out. She spoke, "Albus, dementors are under Ministry control. An unprecedented attack like this on a muggle family isn't going to go down well with the Wizarding Public. And the best part is that the dementors targeted the family of the poster boy of the Wizarding world – Harry Potter!"

But Dumbledore still didn't get it. He looked back blankly. Then Umbridge responded, "Albus you old fool, you just got your reason to get rid of Fudge. Isn't it high time we set things in motion?"

Dumbledore looked at her for a moment. And then, all of a sudden, it hit him.

Slowly, a smile crept up on his face. He completely forgot about the things that were troubling him, and the questions that he was supposed to ask. Yes, this was a rather unprecedented but extremely pleasant development. The gods were finally smiling down on him.

Dumbledore got up from his chair. He spoke calmly to Umbridge, "Thank you, Dolores. I think I'd better start off immediately."

Umbridge smiled back and hastened towards the fireplace. Before she left, she turned back and said to Dumbledore, "By the way Albus, there is a witness to the attack. She is currently being interrogated by Rufus".

She winked at him, and then within no time she was gone.

(A/N: Whew! A slightly longer chapter than initially planned. Hopefully you like it so far.

To those of you who asked about her, Tracey will be introduced to the story soon.

Any ideas/suggestions would be welcome. Can't wait to see those Reviews!)


	4. Complimentary Confrontations

Chapter 4

**Complimentary Confrontations**

"Rufus, I demand that you grant me access to speak to the witness, right now." bellowed the voice of an irate Cornelius Fudge.

Rufus Scrimgeour, Head Auror, was not a person who took kindly to people ordering him about. He responded in a rather cold tone, "I am sorry to say that I can't do that. We're under orders from the Wizengamot Chief, not to let any of the Ministry officials interact with the witness, and that includes you, Minister."

Fudge was getting more impatient by the minute. He couldn't believe that Amelia Bones had already gotten involved in the case. He knew that the woman was one who did everything according to the law and had thus tried his hardest to stop her from becoming the new chief of the Wizengamot after the removal of Albus Dumbledore.

However, her opponent, esteemed pureblood and Fudge supporter, Stephen MacDougal had been defeated in what had been a very closely fought battle for Wizarding Britain's most coveted position. Thus, all of Fudge's efforts had gone in vain.

He had always known that both Bones and Scrimgeour wanted him to be out of office. Now, he also knew that they had the perfect opportunity to get rid of him, and that they were going to leave no brick unturned in this case.

However, Fudge wasn't going to go down without a fight. He decided to resort to his all-time favourite tactic, "Rufus, I know that you value your job. I also happen to know that the position for the Head of the DMLE is still open. If you work with me here, I could help to promote you to that position. However, if you fail to do so, I shudder to even think of the consequences."

On hearing this, Rufus Scrimgeour was completely livid. However, he soon managed to compose himself in time. Corruption and blackmail were a couple of traits that he had learnt to associate with Cornelius Fudge after spending the better part of fifteen years working under him.

He responded, "My position on the matter will not change, Minister. However, I feel that it's my duty to remind you that all cases concerning-"

However, he never got to finish his snide remark, as the door of his office burst open and the towering figure of Albus Dumbledore walked in.

Dumbledore made his way to Scrimgeour's desk and spoke in as pleasant a voice as he could muster, "Good Afternoon, Auror Scrimgeour."

He then looked sideways and smiled when he saw Fudge sitting there, "And a very Good Afternoon to you too, Minister Fudge."

Fudge just glared back at him in response. Scrimgeour wasn't too pleased on being barged in like this. However, he responded by saying, "Good Afternoon, Headmaster Dumbledore. Please have a seat and make yourself comfortable."

Dumbledore did as he was told and he sat down in the chair next to Fudge. As soon as he had done so, Scrimgeour asked him, "So, what brings you here, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore responded, "A little while back I got the news of a dementor attack on one of my student's houses. My sources revealed that all of the student's relatives were killed and also that there was a witness to the attack. I would like to have a talk with the witness."

Before Scrimgeour could respond, Fudge nearly screamed, "There's no way in hell that's happening, Dumbledore. You're denied access to the witness until I get a chance to talk to her."

Dumbledore responded calmly, "Ah, that's where you're mistaken, Cornelius. As Headmaster of the School, I have the right to speak to the witness as the case involves one of my students."

Cornelius was a little taken aback, but he wasn't finished. He was shouting now, "I don't care, Dumbledore. You're not going to be Headmaster of that school for much longer. As soon as I deal with this case, am going to ensure that you're thrown out of your office.

Fudge's threat failed to have the required effect on Dumbledore. He responded, "Oh, come on, Cornelius. It's high time that you stopped playing these political games. An entire muggle family was killed last night. This time you have no other option. You have to put your hand up and admit that you lost the control of the Dementors to Voldemort. He's back, Cornelius, and it's high time you did something about it. "

Fudge's response to this was laced with anger, "You think you can sway me, Dumbledore? You have lost all your authority now and your illogical beliefs don't really matter anymore. I am going to destroy your reputation in the Wizarding World. I am going to-"

However, Scrimgeour had heard enough. He interrupted Fudge rather loudly, "That would be enough, gentlemen!"

Both Fudge and Dumbledore turned and looked at him. He could almost feel the mutual hatred between the two of them. He took a deep breath, put on his best official voice and stated, "I have already said this to Minister Fudge, but I'll repeat it for both of you. I am under orders from the Chief of Wizengamot to not grant anyone access to the witness, other than the investigating Aurors and the Chief herself. That being said, I would now request you to take your personal battles elsewhere, and leave my office immediately."

Both Dumbledore and Fudge glared at him as if he'd just killed their entire families in cold blood. However, Scrimgeour didn't let his focus waver and stood up to escort both of them out of the office. They grudgingly got up and followed him outside.

Before they both left, Dumbledore asked, "Can you atleast let me know the name of the witness?"

Rufus saw no harm in doing that. He replied, "Her name is Arabella Figg."

As soon as he heard this, a small smile crept up on Dumbledore's face, but he somehow managed to hide it.

Fudge gave both Scrimgeour and Dumbledore dirty looks before storming off towards his own office.

After a few seconds, Dumbledore also took his leave. As he walked, there was a small smile playing on his lips and the twinkle in his eyes was back. If he had known that the witness was Arabella Figg, he wouldn't have even bothered to come to Scrimgeour's office. He knew that the squib would do her job. After all, she was Dumbledore's woman through and through.

As he walked on, he contemplated his next moves and came to a decision. A visit to the Department for the Regulation of Magical Creatures was in order.

Also, it was high time that he paid his old friend, Elphias Doge, a visit.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Rufus Scrimgeour was infuriated by the attitude displayed by both Dumbledore and Fudge. After seeing them leave, he went inside his office and sat down on his plush chair.

He sat there pondering over whatever had happened in the last few hours. He was one of the few who secretly believed the Potter boy about Voldemort's return. He had tried hard to convince himself otherwise, but all evidence pointed to that fact. The random disappearances and the change in the attitude of the 'reformed' Death Eaters were a couple of things that were hard to miss.

Also, he had seen the dead body of Cedric Diggory and heard Harry Potter's tale of Voldemort's rebirth via his sources. There was no denying the fact that all pieces fit together. He was not surprised that Fudge, who was an extremely short sighted personality, had immediately denied Voldemort's return.

He had been shocked on hearing from Figg about the Dementor attack on Harry Potter's house. However, it hadn't taken him long to get over the shock and work out the situation so that he could manoeuvre it to his advantage.

He knew that change was coming, and he if he had his way, he intended to play as big a part as possible. If things worked out, he would-

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a memo zooming in and landing on his desk. He sat upright, leaned forward and opened the memo.

As soon as he read it, a bright smile came on his face.

Amelia Bones had called for an emergency Wizengamot meet in two days time. This was going to be so much fun.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Both Sirius and Remus looked straight into Harry's eyes. This was the part that they were afraid of. They wanted to know Harry's response to their order of him not returning to Hogwarts. However, Harry just sat there, completely unmoving.

Normally, if it would have been anyone else, Harry would have given them a befitting response. He would have been furious that such a thing was even suggested to him. But right now, Harry just felt completely numb.

A part of Harry wanted to scream out, to yell at them and to protest against their decision. However, the other part was asking him to take the decision in his stride and respect his Godfather's wishes.

For a few moments there was complete silence in the room. Soon, Harry couldn't bear the tension anymore. He decided that he needed some time to think. He got up and stormed out of the kitchen, without looking back at Sirius and Remus. He hadn't even finished his breakfast.

Remus rose from his chair to stop Harry, but Sirius stopped him from doing so. Sirius knew that Harry needed some time alone. After all, that one decision had pretty much turned his life upside down.

Harry went straight to his room. His anger was swelling inside of him. He had lost his parents, he had lost his friends and now he was going to lose the only thing that was left.

Harry lay down on his bed and rested his head on the soft pillows. He tried to calm himself but his mind wandered away into deep thoughts.

Harry remembered the time when he first learned that he was a wizard; he remembered how Hagrid had rescued him from the Dursley's and taken him to Diagon Alley. He remembered the first time he had stepped into the Hogwarts' Express and his feeling of complete awe when he had entered the magnanimous Great Hall.

He remembered the good times he had with his best friends, Ron and Hermione. He remembered the time he had spent at the Weasleys, even though it had all turned out to be a farce in the end. He remembered being chosen as the youngest seeker in a century and then catching the Snitch against Slytherin in his first Quidditch match. He even remembered his dull History of Magic Classes.

Harry couldn't help but think that everything seemed so distant right now. He tried as hard as he could, but he couldn't bring himself to even think about staying away from Hogwarts forever. He resolved that he wouldn't listen to Sirius. Hogwarts was the only true home he ever had and he would be going back.

With that, Harry drifted off, completely lost in his memories.

When Harry woke up, he was sweating and found that his heart was pounding rapidly. He had another nightmare. But this time it had been different. He had dreamt that Dumbledore had come to Black's Den and had killed him!

Harry looked around him and was relieved to realize that it was just a dream.

Suddenly, Harry recollected the events that transpired since last night - the escape from Privet drive to the Blacks' den and then Sirius' revelations at the breakfast table.

He took a glance at his room. No one was around and there was a strange kind of peace looming. It seemed as if it was late in the evening. Harry couldn't believe that he had slept for so long.

He got up a little and then relaxed with his back against the bed's backrest as he began to think about what his godfather had said.

Maybe it would be better if he didn't have anything to do with the Wizarding world at all. Maybe he should just disappear and go away to some place where no one would find him.

He thought of all the bad things that had happened at Hogwarts – the unnecessary fight for the Philosopher's Stone, the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, Cedric's death, the resurrection of Voldemort, the betrayal by the Weasleys and majorly the manipulations by Dumbledore. As he thought about all this, he came to the realization that he just couldn't trust anyone anymore.

Perhaps Sirius was right, Harry thought. Perhaps returning to Hogwarts was a bad idea.

"Harry, it's nearly night-time now. Stop sulking and get up quick!"

Harry looked towards the door of his room and saw the tall and thin frame of his Godfather.

Sirius entered the room followed by a violet haired witch. Remus was the last to enter. All three of them came and stood near Harry's bed. Harry sat upright.

Before Sirius could say anything, Remus interrupted, "Harry, meet Tonks!"

Sirius was a little taken aback by Remus's extreme enthusiasm and looked at him incredulously.

The violet haired witch named Tonks smiled at Harry. She sat on the bed and greeted him, "Wotcher, Harry? Wish you many happy returns of the day!"

Harry looked at Tonks with a little apprehension. He wasn't in the mood to talk with random strangers.

After a few uncomfortable moments, Sirius spoke up, "Well Harry, this is no way to be celebrating a birthday! I arranged a small get together for you. In case you're wondering, Nymphadora's my cousin and our lookout on the outside. I took the liberty of inviting her."

Before Harry could respond, Tonks turned and looked at Sirius with fiery eyes. "Don't call me by my first name! You know I hate it when somebody does that!"

Harry looked at Tonks as the colour of her hair changed from violet to red, as if reflecting her inner emotions, and then back to violet. Harry suppressed a smile; he found it a little amusing.

Remus noticed the faint smile on Harry's lips and said, "Well, it's amazing the way she can change her hair colour, right? She's a Metamorphmagus, Harry. She can change shape at will. It's a very rare talent to possess."

Harry was impressed on hearing this. He wished he was one of those Meta-things too. Oh, how he would love to hide that scar!

However, he was starting to feel uncomfortable now, with everyone staring at him. He realized that he still hadn't said anything.

Tonks noticed his discomfort and took his hand in hers before saying, "C'mon let's take a walk!"

Harry couldn't think of anything better to do. He got up and followed her quietly as she led him outside.

As they left, Sirius looked at Remus and whispered in his ear, "Good idea to get her here! I'm sure that she'll help to perk Harry up. Great choice Remus, I'm impressed."

Remus got the double meaning behind Sirius's words and went a little red in the face. However, he managed to hide his embarrassment and just smiled back at Sirius.

Together, all four of them went to a room which was at a little distance from the kitchen.

As soon as Harry stepped into the room, he was amazed. It was late in the evening and the place looked as if it was decorated for a party.

In the middle was a long table with four chairs. The roof was dome shaped and the walls were transparent. One could perfectly see the sea outside.

The floor seemed to be made of polished granite and it reflected the stars of a clear night sky.

Everyone took their seats. Harry also sat down, unsure of what to do or say.

Remus, Sirius and Tonks looked at each other for a moment. Then, as if on cue, all three of them, stood up and sang 'Happy Birthday' to him.

Harry remained seated and watched as their voices echoed in the room. Suddenly he noticed that even the elves had joined in and they were dancing too!

After a while, the elves started dancing like a troupe of circus clowns. A loud trumpet of horns and clarinets were heard playing a completely ridiculous tune. It was hilarious.

Then Tonks joined in with the elves. She imitated the elves, in a semi – mockery sort of way. Her hair colour changed to different shades every few minutes.

In the middle of the entire din, she came to Harry and pulled him towards the dancing troupe. Harry resisted, but she dragged him anyways. Harry found himself joining in the fray and executing a few good moves of his own.

Harry's spirits began to lift up a little. He found that he was enjoying himself too much to even care about the early morning talk.

After some time they all came back to the table. Harry was visibly pleased with how everything had gone so far. He spoke in a jovial tone,

"Tonks, you are unbelievable! I can't believe that I joined you in that madness!"

Tonks just grinned in response and Harry thanked her for cheering him up.

Sirius then said, "Goodness Harry, You've just met her and she is already your best friend. Have you completely forgotten about me and Remus? Can we just pretend that today morning didn't happen, for then I have a surprise waiting for you."

Harry was a little curious now. "What's the surprise?"

Sirius looked at him. "Well Harry, it's about time you tried this!"

Harry looked on as Sirius called for and opened a bottle of aged Firewhiskey.

He filled in only three glasses, for Tonks didn't want to have any.

Harry asked, "Are you sure it's all right for me to have this stuff?"

Sirius answered, "Oh, I am sure you will love it!" and he winked at Harry.

Remus picked up his glass to raise a toast. "To Harry Potter, For his …"

But before Remus could complete, his attention was diverted towards Sirius, who had just downed his first glass. He wasn't in the mood to wait.

Remus looked at Sirius in mock disapproval and said, "You lazy old drunkard, couldn't you wait until we are done with the toast? It's Harry's birthday!"

Sirius sighed, "Huh? Oh I thought we were done with the toast!" He again looked at Harry and grinned widely.

Harry smiled back at his godfather. He seemed to be back to his cheerful self, now that his Azkaban days were well behind him.

Tonks got up, "I guess I'll get the table ready for dinner."

Remus looked at Harry and said, "Hey Harry, I think you should thank her. She has prepared the dinner for your birthday. She is an excellent cook!"

Harry looked at Tonks, "Really? That's wonderful!"

Tonks smiled and left for the kitchen and was soon followed by the house elves who had now gone back to their solemn selves.

There was a moment of silence, which was then broken by the sound of Sirius shouting, "Harry you haven't taken a sip yet. You are spoiling my reputation here!"

Harry looked at him and took the glass to his mouth. He hesitated for a moment. The Firewhiskey looked sparklingly beautiful.

He was about to take a sip when Sirius bellowed, "No Harry, not like that. Its bottoms up!"

Remus looked towards Sirius, "What? You mad? Don't do that Harry. You don't want to end up like him!"

Harry responded with a grin, "Well Remus, I am his godson!"

He then smiled and drained the entire glass of Firewhiskey.

"That's the way, my boy!" shouted Sirius.

"Kudos Harry, God save you now!" And Remus drained his glass as well.

At first Harry felt a burning sensation in his insides as the hot fluid crept down his throat. But it soon gave way to an odd sense of well being and happiness.

Sirius poured in the glasses for the next round, "Last man standing wins!" He winked again at Harry.

The binge session continued for the next half an hour. At the end, Harry's score was four glasses; Remus had six, while Sirius totalled twelve.

All three sat inebriated on their chairs. Everyone was in the mood for fun but felt drowsy.

Suddenly Sirius stood up, "Attention people. Watch me! I wanted to do this ever since I got out of Azkaban!"

He kept one foot on his chair and tried to climb up on the table. He stumbled and fell down. But both Harry and Remus were too drunk to assist him.

Sirius got up by himself, "I'm all right! It's Ok! No cause of worry here …!"

And he hiccupped.

Sirius again attempted to climb on to the table, and this time he succeeded.

He removed his overcoat and flung it aside. Harry and Remus, now starry eyed, watched as Sirius started belly dancing on the table!

It was a riot. Harry couldn't control his laughter. He had to hold his stomach.

Remus, who had just taken another shot, also lost all sanity and he too joined Sirius on the table. Both danced hand in hand and sang like a couple of drunken sailors in a bar.

It wasn't long before Harry joined in the fray. He hadn't had so much fun in years.

When Tonks came back after setting the table, she was shocked at the sight in front of her and then stunned when she saw the number of empty glasses on the table. She couldn't believe that in her half hour absence, the three idiots had managed to consume such a lot of Firewhiskey.

She managed to somehow get the three drunkards to sit down and eat. They all ate merrily, constantly praising Tonks' cooking.

After the sumptuous dinner, Harry bade goodbye to everyone and rushed to his room. His head was already spinning and he had trouble keeping his footing.

His insides still hurt with all the laughter and celebrations.

Somehow he got back to his room, and jumped into his bed. As Harry lay down on his bed, way past midnight, he couldn't help but think that it didn't matter how the day had started. All that mattered right now was that this was the – Best Birthday Ever!

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The next morning, Lisa Turpin was waiting for Neville Longbottom in Diagon Alley. Today, she was going to move to Longbottom Manor to stay with Neville and his grandmother. She had already sent all her belongings to Neville's place with her house elf, Tippy.

It wasn't long before he showed up. After exchanging pleasantries, they checked up on a few bookstores before heading towards Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour. There, both of them feasted on a sinful butterscotch sundae, and Lisa told Neville about her correspondence with Harry and how well it was going. Neville was very happy on hearing about it.

After finishing their sundaes, they walked on a little before coming to the infamous Knockturn Alley. Both of them were about to enter one of the shops, when they heard a muffled scream coming from the small alley next to it.

The scream was unmistakeably of a girl or a woman is severe distress. Neville looked at Lisa and gave her a nod, after which they stepped into the alley. They moved as stealthily and quickly as possible and within a few moments they came near the end of the alley and stopped short at the sight in front them

There was a young girl lying on the floor and a tall boy was standing over her. A boy who was familiar to both Lisa and Neville, a boy named Theodore Nott.

Nott was speaking in a rather disturbing tone, "I'm going to have so much fun with you, you little vixen. I've already waited too long for this."

The girl, who had been rather clumsily gagged and tied, managed to cry out, "No... please!"

Nott paid no heed to her, and he moved to loosen the clasp on his robes.

Neville decided to wait no longer. He jumped from behind, and landed a solid punch on the back of his head.

Nott, who hadn't been expecting anyone to attack, felt the full force of the punch. It dislodged him a bit but he gained back his footing. He looked at Neville with utter contempt and shouted, "You're dead!"

He pumped his fists and started moving towards Neville. But, before he could do anything...

Thud! Nott fell unconscious on the ground. Lisa had just knocked the daylights out of him by striking another blow on the back of his head.

Neville sighed, but Lisa wasn't done yet. She raised her foot and swung it hard at Nott's groins. A little harder, and she would've ensured that Theodore Nott would be incapable of ever becoming a father.

Lisa then turned her attention to the girl who was sobbing on the floor. Thankfully her clothes were all intact, and that they had managed to rescue her before Nott had his chance to have his way with her.

Lisa wrapped her arms around the girl, "It's going to be okay, dear. He won't be able to hurt you now or ever."

Neville knelt down next to the girl. He noticed that other than the dirt marks on her face, and her slightly messy brown hair, she was rather pretty.

He had a feeling that he had seen the girl somewhere and it didn't take him long to figure out where. He immediately asked, "Hey, I think I remember seeing you in school. Aren't you in Slytherin?"

The girl, whose tears had now subsided, replied, "Yes … I am in Slytherin. Thank you for saving me, Longbottom. Without you, I'd be done for!"

She held out her hand and offered it to Neville, who shook it and then lifted her up from the ground. As soon as she had gotten up, Lisa was the one, who spoke,

"Well, It seems that you are already aware of Neville's name. I am Lisa Turpin, a Ravenclaw from your year. "

The girl turned towards her and embraced her, muttering a quiet, "Thank you."

Lisa acknowledged the thanks with a nod before stating, "I don't remember seeing you in school. I can't help but wonder why."

The girl let out a fake laugh before replying, "Well, it's pretty hard to get noticed when your best friend is Daphne Greengrass, the 'Ice Queen' of the school."

As soon as she said this, looks of realization dawned on both Lisa's and Neville's faces. They both remembered her as the girl who was usually seen with Greengrass. However, the way Greengrass carried herself; it was difficult to notice anyone next to her.

Neville was the first to react, "You're Tracey Davis, aren't you?"

Tracey saw the looks on their faces and grinned, "Finally! I thought you were never going to get it."

After this, there was an uncomfortable moment of silence, as all three of them were thinking of something to say.

Tracey was the first one to speak, as she decided to ask them a question which had just sprung up in her mind. She asked, "Not that I was not pleased to see you, but what were two people like you doing in Knockturn Alley of all places?"

Neville was the one who replied, "We came for some of my Grandmother's work. There's a shop outside this alley, which supplies one of the rare potions which she needs to take once a week. Our stock ran out, so I decided to come and get some more. Lisa was meeting with me in Diagon Alley, so I asked her to come with."

Before Tracey could comment on this, Lisa asked, "Forget about us, how did you manage to get into this mess?"

Tracey's face darkened as soon as she heard this question. She was unsure of whether to reply, but seeing that the two people in front of her had saved her dignity, she decided to do so.

She paused for a moment before beginning, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes. She managed to do it and continued, "As soon as I had walked halfway down the alley, I was attacked from behind ..."

She had tried her best, but she couldn't keep the tears out of her eyes. They came flowing down and she looked away, not wanting to appear weak.

Neville signalled to Lisa, who went and comforted her. After a few moments, Tracey was in a position to continue her tale,

"The bastard hit me on the back of the head and I fell down. I was in a complete daze and he took advantage of that to tie me up and gag me. Thankfully, the gag was not well tied and I managed to scream as soon as I came to my senses. I am assuming that my scream was what bought you here..."

Both Neville and Lisa nodded. Tracey went on, "Before he could inflict any physical damage on me, you guys showed up and saved me. I doubt I'll ever be able to thank you enough."

Neville responded, "You don't need to thank us, Tracey. We did what we had to do. I do have a question for you though. Why didn't you ask some other family member to accompany you before coming to a place like this? You obviously know that this place is not safe for a fifteen year old girl, especially when she's alone."

There was a sad look in Tracey's eyes when she replied, "My dad is the only family I have. The rest of them, including my mother, died when I was three."

Both Lisa and Neville were shocked on hearing this. Neville muttered out an apology which Tracey didn't respond to.

She continued, "My father had been missing for the past month or so. I hadn't heard from him since I came back from school. Two days back, I got a letter from him, asking me to come and meet me in this particular alley. As I had never visited Knockturn alley before, I was really scared. However, the letter said that he had something very important to tell me, so I took the decision to come. I reached the alley and waited at the entrance. However, after some time I saw that there was no sign of him. I thought that he may be inside and decided to check. You know the rest..."

Lisa tightened her grip on Tracey's shoulders when she heard this. They just sat there in silence for a few moments before Lisa asked, "So, are you staying alone at your place?"

Tracey nodded and said, "For the last week or so, yes. Before Daphne left with her family for a holiday in France, I was staying at her place. "

Neville saw the opportunity to make up for his error of asking about Tracey's family. He offered, "Lisa is going to be staying at my place till school starts. Would you like to come and stay over for a few days?"

Tracey was a little surprised on hearing this. She responded, "Err... that would be great, but I don't want to intrude."

Neville quickly moved to allay all her insecurities. He stated, "Nonsense! You would not be intruding at all. We would actually be glad to have your company."

Seeing that there was still an apprehensive look on Tracey's face, Neville joked, "I hope that you don't plan to make me get on my knees and beg."

On hearing this, Tracey couldn't stop a smile from lighting up her face. After a little more convincing, Tracey finally relented and agreed to join them at Longbottom Manor. They walked out and Lisa held onto Tracey who was still feeling a little dizzy from the blow on her head, while Neville went alone into the shop next to the alley, named '_Xeno's – Rare Products and Potions_'

Within a few minutes, he was back, carrying a brown bag with him. He gave an imperceptible nod to Lisa, and within a few moments, all three of them took off towards the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron.

(A/N: So, we now have all three our major characters involved in the story. When will they meet? Not decided yet. If you have any ideas, they'll be welcome.

A piece of advice: There's a reason behind everything that's happening. If there's any ambiguity right now, then it's more than likely that it'll be solved, come the end of the story.

There's a point that I needed to get across and I'm sorry that this is the only possible medium that I could think of. So, if you're not interested in reading what I have to say, then there's no need to do so. Or, you can choose to bear with me for the next few lines...

In my other story 'The Wrong Choice', some people thought that it was their responsibility to 'inform' me that my portrayal of Daphne was unrealistic. I don't think so...

Do you really expect a girl in her situation (Dead parents and the greatest Dark Wizard after your blood) to be acting all high and mighty with the only guy who could help her? On a more general note, is it really necessary that all Slytherin girls have to be portrayed as conniving, bitching whores?

Canon gave fanfiction authors the liberty to do whatever they wanted to with the OFC characters, and I'll portray them as I see fit.

I won't have my main female protagonist having stupid rows with Harry or sleeping around with random guys, just because she has to 'act Slytherin'. Neither will she be sexually abused by random Death Eaters, just because it adds 'gritty realism' to the story. If that's how your sadistic mind likes things to be, then there are millions of other stories on . Pick one to your liking and read it to your heart's content. My work is not for you.

Well, that's that I guess. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

To finish off on a lighter note, I hope you liked the chapter. Great things planned ahead. Keep reading and reviewing :))


	5. Double Cross

Chapter 5

**Double Cross**

On the day after his birthday, it was nearly noon by the time Harry woke up. He was feeling completely drowsy and his head was throbbing rather painfully. It didn't take him long to remember what had bought on the pain.

On his birthday night, Sirius had offered to let him have his first ever Firewhiskey. Harry was facing difficulty coming to terms with all the stuff that had been revealed to him earlier in the day. As a result, he hadn't even hesitated while accepting the drink.

Both Sirius and Remus were themselves having copious amounts of Firewhiskey, and they had been in no position to stop him from drinking too much. One drink had led to another, and by the time he had gotten to sleep, he was as drunk as a skunk.

Now, in what he thought was early morning, he was suffering from the side-effects of his drinking binge last night, and not feeling too happy about it.

After a struggle against his own body, he somehow managed to sit up on the bed. In the process, his forehead started throbbing even more painfully. God that hurt!

His eyes wandered over the room and suddenly stopped on spotting a certain someone. He thought he must be hallucinating and strained his eyes to get a better look. However, the end result was the same.

He spoke in a rather hoarse voice, "Dobby?"

The tiny elf, standing in one of the corners of the room, grinned maniacally at being addressed, "Harry Potter sir remembers Dobby. Dobby is so honoured!"

Harry winced as he was about to reply. He was in mood to have a conversation with anybody right now.

Dobby saw him wincing and spoke again, "Harry Potter sir seems to have had lots of drinks. Would Harry Potter sir likes to have Sobering charm performed on him? Dobby is good at charm after performing it many times on Winky last year."

Harry was delighted on hearing this. With great difficulty, he spoke again, "Yes, Please. That would be great."

Dobby was quick to take the opportunity to serve his 'Harry Potter sir' and performed the charm on him. It took only a few moments until Harry's headache disappeared and he started feeling near normal once again. He was still feeling a bit drowsy, but he realized that it was probably because he had just woken up.

He then looked at Dobby, and now that he was feeling normal again, the shock of the elf appearing out of nowhere finally sunk in. He asked in a rather worried tone, "Dobby, how did you get here?"

Dobby simply replied, "Dobby popping in from Hogwarts."

Harry just stared blankly at him. He decided to rephrase his question a little, "No, Dobby. What I meant to ask is, how'd you manage to get through the Fidelius Charm?"

Dobby responded, "Fidelius Charms not working on House elves, Harry Potter sir. We can pop in wherever we want to."

On hearing this, Harry was suitably impressed. However, he realized that he should've known this before. After all, House elves were constantly popping in and out, all over Hogwarts, and as far as he knew, the school had the best wards present in the whole of Britain.

However, this still left his major question unanswered. He asked, "Dobby, what are you doing here?"

Dobby's face suddenly darkened and he looked at the point of bursting into tears. He somehow managed to croak out,

"Dobby hearing of Harry Potter sir's disappearance from home when he going to serve tea in Headmaster's office. As soon as Dobby start working under him last year, Dobby knowing that Headmaster bad man. However, as Headmaster being Dobby's master, Dobby not being permitted to speak anything against him. It all is being Dobby's fault that Harry Potter sir having to suffer so much because of bad Headmaster."

At this point, Dobby did break into tears. Harry thought about trying to console him and said, "Don't cry, Dobby. It wasn't your fault that I had to suffer. If you had told me last year that Dumbledore was a bad man, I probably wouldn't have believed you. No need to cry because of something that's already happened."

Dobby's tears slightly subsided on this. Harry waited until his tears had stopped before asking, "So, how are you here today?"

Dobby responded in a slightly proud voice, "Dobby signing one year magical contract with Headmaster at beginning of last year. Now, the contract being over and Dobby is being free elf and leaving Hogwarts. Dobby then decides to seek out Harry Potter sir and serve him."

Harry was a little taken aback by this. He asked, "What do you mean by serving me?"

Dobby's voice had a pleading tone, "Dobby requesting to bond with Harry Potter sir. Dobby wants to help Harry Potter sir in war against He-who-must-not-be-named."

Harry contemplated over this for a few moments. He decided that it seemed like a pretty good idea but shuddered when he thought about what Hermione might think of him. However, when he looked towards Dobby and saw the pleading look in his eyes, he finally relented.

After nearly half an hour of negotiation, which involved Dobby trying to lower his wages as much as possible, they finally settled on the terms and conditions.

Harry had somehow convinced Dobby to accept double the wages that he got at Hogwarts. However, in response, Dobby had refused to take any off days. Harry thought that it was a fair deal, and had accepted the terms.

Soon, the bond was completed, and Dobby burst into tears of happiness. His lifelong dream of serving Harry Potter had been finally realized.

Harry then checked on the time and realized that he had already missed breakfast, and if he didn't get ready on time then he'd miss lunch also.

He told Dobby and then headed straightaway to the shower. Within a few minutes, he was ready and headed down to the dining room with Dobby in tow.

He was surprised to find that neither one of Sirius or Remus were present on the dining table. On asking one of the elves, he was told that both of them were still asleep.

Mentally chuckling to himself, he sat down on the dinner table. He decided to wait for them to wake up before having his lunch.

While waiting, he remembered something that Sirius had told him to do last evening. He asked Dobby to get him a piece of parchment and a quill. After thinking for a while, he wrote:

_Resp. Head of Gringotts Bank,_

_It has come to my attention that withdrawals are being made from my vault numbered 687, without my prior consent. I would like to meet with you to discuss the withdrawals that were made as well as my current estate position._

_Please reply back with whatever time you think would be convenient for us to meet. If you could do so soon, the help would be much appreciated._

_Till then, I would request you to freeze my account and not permit any more withdrawals._

_Thanking you,_

_Your loyal customer,_

_Harry James Potter_

After he had finished, he waited for a few moments and saw that there was no sign of either Sirius or Remus. He remembered that he had still not written back to Lisa. He asked Dobby to fetch another piece of parchment and sat down to compose a reply:

_Hey Lisa,_

_First of all, am really sorry for replying so late. Something came up and I was rather busy for the past few days._

_Thank you for updating me on the situation regarding Voldemort. I was rather surprised on reading the articles in the Prophet, but they didn't really bother me much. Guess I'm used to weird stuff happening to me now._

_Anyways, you'd be happy to know that I've left my horrible relatives and shifted to a new place. This place is rather amazing and I'm really enjoying myself._

_When are you moving to Neville's place? Please let me know._

_Enjoy your holidays and keep in touch._

_Harry _

He was so engrossed in writing the letter, that he nearly fell out of his seat when he heard his Godfather's voice from behind him,

"Who's Lisa?"

After composing himself, Harry turned around and responded, "A new friend I made."

Sirius couldn't keep the smirk off his face, "And here I was, feeling disappointed about the fact that my Godson was friends with only one girl. It's really heartening to see that you talk to other girls besides Hermione."

Harry couldn't stop himself from blushing. Sirius noticed the blush and remarked,

"No need to be embarrassed, Harry. In fact, if you need any pointers on how to deal with girls, I'd be more than happy to help you out."

Harry was quick to reply, "No, thank you, Sirius."

Seeing the smug grin on his Godfather's face, Harry decided to change the topic. He said, "I have written the letter which you asked me to write to the Head of Gringotts. I'd like to send that letter as well as the one to Lisa. Seeing that the place is underwater, how will Hedwig get out of here?"

Sirius replied, "Well, if I remember correctly, the book that I read said that there is a passage for owls to take and get mail. However, your owl is too conspicuous and would easily be spotted if there's someone keeping a watch. We'll have to find another way."

At this point, Dobby quipped in, "Dobby will be pleased to take Harry Potter sir's mail for him."

Sirius had not really noticed the elf thus far. He asked, "Who's he?"

Harry then told Sirius about how he had bonded with the elf. Sirius was a little surprised, but did not say much. He agreed with Dobby's proposition to take the letters.

Sirius left the dining room for a bit, while Harry started to give Dobby instructions regarding the letters.

Soon, Sirius came back and handed Harry a package and a mirror. Harry looked at him in confusion and asked,

"What's this?"

Sirius replied, "That's one of the parts of a two-way mirror, Harry. The package contains the other part. You send the package to any one of your friends with Dobby. Whenever you want to talk to that friend, just say his name and the person's face will appear in the mirror."

Harry was surprised but also extremely pleased at the same time, "This is so cool. But, why are you giving it to me right now?"

Sirius responded, "I thought that it would be good if you could talk once in a while to any one of your friends. Send it to any one of your friends, other than Ron and Hermione. I can't let you send it to Ron and Hermione simply because they are under Dumbledore's protective eye at my ancestral home. Perhaps you could send it to that Lisa girl you were writing too?"

Harry thought about it for a couple of minutes, and he finally came to a decision. There was only once person whom he could trust and talk to at the moment.

He scribbled down a note and put it inside the package with the mirror.

He handed the package to Dobby and then gave him the instructions about where and whom to deliver the respective letters. Dobby nodded his assent and popped out.

Harry sighed and sat down at the dining table with Sirius where they were soon joined by a completely bedraggled Remus.

All three of them were extremely hungry and as soon as the elves brought in lunch, they began to devour the food.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Tracey Davis was happy, a feeling that she wasn't really accustomed to. After reaching Longbottom Manor, Neville had introduced her to his grandmother, a strict but kind woman. Augusta Longbottom had welcomed her to the manor and formally invited her to stay with them for the rest of the holidays.

A house-elf had then been assigned with the duty to go to Tracey's house and get all her belongings that she required for her stay. The house-elf had duly obliged and returned with all her necessary possessions, which were then put in the room which she'd be living in.

Right now, she was enjoying lunch at the Longbottom Manor in the company of Neville and Lisa. Neville kept cracking some joke or the other which would make both the witches laugh. To Tracey, Neville seemed to a changed boy from what she knew of him at school. He was much more confident, funny and great fun to be with. She assumed he felt more comfortable and relaxed at home, and was thus able to express himself better.

Just as Neville had finished describing his unsuccessful attempt at dieting, a loud pop was heard and to the surprise of the three a house-elf was standing in front of them with one of its legs inside their pie.

Neville looked at the ruined pie, and then looked at the elf. After a couple of seconds, he roared, "What the hell do you think you're doing, popping up in the middle of our pie? Who are you?"

The elf was a tad bit scared, but managed a response, "I is Dobby, the faithful servant of the greatest in Universe, Harry Potter. I is bringing letter for Ms. Turpin and package for Mr. Longbottom, sent by the great Harry Potter himself."

Dobby then handed the respective items to the recipients, and popped out leaving a very bewildered threesome behind him.

Lisa was the first to open her letter. She read it and then openly expressed her pleasure at having received a reply from Harry. Neville soon opened his package afterward and to his surprise a mirror fell out with a note attached. He read:

_Dear Neville,_

_How've you been mate? I'm really sorry to disturb you like this, but I really needed someone to talk to. Due to circumstances that I can't really explain right now, am unable to contact either Hermione or Ron, and felt that you're perhaps the only person whom I could trust right now._

_The mirror in the package is a two way mirror. Just say my name while looking at it and then we'll be able to discuss. _

_Hoping to hear from you soon,_

_Harry_

While Neville was reading the note, Lisa was explaining to Tracey about how she had talked to Harry on the train, and how they had become quill-pals since. Tracey was a bit confused about the happenings, but decided it wasn't her place to say anything on the matter.

After talking to Tracey, Lisa headed over to Neville who showed her the note. Lisa read the note and a look of surprise crept upon her face. She handed the note back to Neville and he asked her, "Should I?"

She replied, "Obviously yes."

Neville took the mirror in his hands, looked at it and said, "Harry Potter."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After finishing his lunch, Harry was relaxing on the couch in the sitting room. Both Sirius and Remus had decided to sleep for some more time. Apparently, their liquor intake had been much higher than that of Harry's and they had even gone off to sleep much later. Thus, they were finding it extremely hard to stay awake, even after being subject to the sobering charm.

As Harry sat there alone, he thought about whether he had made the right choice in sending the other half of the pair of mirrors to Neville. His first choice would have been definitely Hermione, but Sirius had provided a valid justification which had ruled her out of the picture.

He had even thought of Lisa, but then finally come to the conclusion that he didn't know her well enough. He also figured that since she was going to be moving to Neville's place at some point during the summer, he could talk to her using the same mirror which he had sent to Neville.

As he thought over it for some more time, he decided that he had made the right choice. Neville had always been a good friend to him since they had known each other. Now that he knew the reality behind the people whom he once thought of as family and friends, he couldn't help but feel that someone like Neville would be a good person to befriend.

As he thought of his supposed friends, he again found himself hoping that Hermione hadn't been a part of Dumbledore manipulations. He really wanted to contact her, but found that he had no choice but to sit back and hope for the best.

His musings were interrupted by a vibration in his pocket. He took out the mirror and saw the display saying 'Neville Longbottom calling'. He took Neville's full name and his face appeared in the mirror. This was followed by a huge smile on Neville's face.

Neville was the first one to speak, "Hey Harry. It's really good to see you. These mirrors are so cool."

Harry responded, "It's great to see you too, Neville. First of all, thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I hope I am not disturbing you or anything ..."

"Oh shut it, Harry. We've known each other for four years now, so it'd be better if you cut the formal rubbish. So tell me, how you been doing?"

"I am doing great, Neville. There's something I need to tell you..."

And with that, Harry told Neville about everything that had happened in the last two days. He only kept the identities of the people who had rescued him a secret. And obviously, he wasn't able to disclose the location.

Neville listened intently and as Harry finished he said, "Harry, you seem to have gotten yourself into another fine mess, and I cannot do anything but sympathize with you right now. Just remember that I'm always here for you, whenever you need to talk. Also, if everything does get sorted out, it'd be great if you could come and spend the last few days of the vacation with us."

Harry was pleased with the invite, but knew that it was unlikely that he'd be getting out of Blacks' Den soon. Neville then passed on the mirror to Lisa who was excited on seeing Harry and even concerned for him. She told him about the morning's incidents in Diagon Alley, and Harry was shocked on hearing about Nott's attempt. He asked for the mirror to be passed back to Neville.

He asked Neville, "Why aren't you reporting Nott to Law Enforcement? They'd surely have some law to punish the bastard."

Neville replied, "I'm sorry, Harry. I talked to my grandmother and she was of the opinion that any report would only serve to put Tracey in further jeopardy. She said that the Ministry was swarming with Death Eaters, and as of now it would be better if we kept a low profile."

Harry understood Neville's grandmother's reasoning, but made a mental note to talk about the matter with Tonks, the next time he met her.

To Harry's surprise, Neville then passed on the mirror to Tracey. After a little awkward silence, they both said their hellos, after which Harry enquired about her well-being. Tracey responded that she was fine and thanked him for his concern. This was followed by some more uncomfortable staring, which was thankfully over when Neville took the mirror again.

Both Harry and Neville decided to end the conversation, and Neville promised to keep Harry updated with the happenings in the Wizarding World.

As soon as Harry put the mirror down, there should've been a dozen thoughts racing through his mind. However, to his surprise, the only thing he couldn't stop thinking about was how pretty Tracey was.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Madam Amelia Bones' loud voice rang through the Wizengamot chamber, "Respected witches and wizards, welcome to the 935th meeting of the Wizengamot. You've all been summoned here on an emergency basis, to discuss appropriate measures to counter the recent happenings in the Wizarding world. I'd request you all to have a seat as we start our proceedings."

She continued, "Without further delay, I'd like to bring to your attention, our first matter at hand. This matter concerns the death of three Muggles. Dementors, who are supposed to be our guards at Azkaban, sucked their souls out."

Everyone was already aware of the matter, so no one expressed any surprise in the chamber. Amelia Bones went on, "This is a serious breach of the International Code of Wizarding Secrecy and thus I'd ask our Head Auror, Mr. Scrimgeour to provide a detailed report about the incident."

Rufus Scrimgeour stood up and bowed before the council, before proceeding with a report about how the Dementors had attacked the Dursley's house and managed to kill all three of them. He then presented Arabella Figg in front of the council, and she described how she'd seen the dementors outside the house located in Little Whinging. There were a few council members who doubted her ability to see dementors as she was a squib, but she put those doubts to rest by describing the feeling of being near dementors in complete detail.

After hearing Mrs. Figg's testimony there was a subdued silence in the chamber. Amelia spoke up, "As he is the current Minister of Magic, I'd ask Minister Fudge to provide us with an explanation regarding this matter."

Fudge knew that this was coming. He stood up, bowed to the council and explained, "Respected Members of the Wizengamot, this was a truly unfortunate incident. I assure you that If I had any idea that such a thing was about to happen I would have done everything in my power to prevent it. However, now that this disaster has befallen us, I ensure you that my officers in coalition with the Department of Regulation of Magical Creatures will try our level best to find the culprit at the earliest."

Fudge took another short bow and then returned to his chair. He thought that he had done the best he could to avoid any serious punishment. As Fudge sat down next to her, Dolores Umbridge couldn't suppress a small smile. She looked at Dumbledore, expecting him to stand up and call for the dismissal of Fudge on the basis of incompetence.

However, to her complete surprise, Elphias Doge was the person who stood up next and started speaking, "Respected fellow members of the Wizengamot, I find that it's my duty to inform you that after some investigation, we at the Department of the Regulation of Magical Creatures have already found out the person responsible for ordering the dementor attack on the Muggles."

There was a loud gasp in the chamber on hearing this. Doge continued, "The responsible person took various steps to keep their identity secret by bribing and using memory charms on some of our employees. With the help of Headmaster Dumbledore who came to see me yesterday, we were able to figure out that the attacks were ordered by none other than one of the most valued officers in Minister Fudge's office, Madam Dolores Umbridge."

The entire chamber broke into chatter. If looks could kill, Umbridge would've been standing on Dumbledore's dead body. The old coot had double crossed her. The reality of the situation then dawned upon her; she was on her way to Azkaban, if she didn't do something to save herself.

Umbridge shouted, "That's an absolute lie."

Elphias Doge retorted, "No, it isn't. Madam Bones, please have a look at our dossier of records which proves my claim."

Amelia Bones was shaken at Doge's revelation and gingerly took the dossier from him. On going through it, she realized that the records clearly stated that Dolores Umbridge was the one responsible.

The chamber was in uproar by the time Madam Bones had finished going through the dossier. She ordered everyone to calm down and as soon as order was restored, she stood up and proclaimed, "Mr. Elphias Doge is indeed telling the truth. The person responsible for the attacks is Madam Dolores Umbridge."

This was followed by a loud shriek of 'No' from Umbridge. To Madam Bones' surprise, Dumbledore was the one who stood up next and started speaking, "As its clearly evident now, the attacks were ordered by Madam Dolores Umbridge. Thus, this also raises questions about Minister Fudge, as she was a valued member of his office. He's clearly unable to choose the right personnel to work in his office. Also, his current lack of knowledge about the attacks and who caused them reeks of ineptitude. We deserve a better leader, someone who knows what he or she is doing. Thus, on the basis of incompetence, I'd like to call for the dismissal of Mr. Cornelius Fudge from the post of Minister of Magic."

Fudge sat stunned in his seat, unable to say or do anything. Dumbledore had clearly screwed him over and he had no way out.

Amelia Bones responded to Dumbledore's insinuations, "Very well, Headmaster Dumbledore, we shall definitely take your request under consideration. Before that though, I'd like to ask Madam Umbridge to come forth and explain her reasons behind ordering the attack on the Muggles.

Umbridge was escorted from her seat by two Aurors and was then made to sit in the witness chair. The only thing on her mind was revenge, and she wasn't going down alone. On being questioned by Amelia Bones, she responded, "Minister Fudge had taken a strong position to discredit the Boy-who-lived, Harry Potter. He had ensured that with the help of the Daily Prophet, the boy would be in such a condition that no one believed him. I thought it would be better to get rid of the boy once and for all and thus I ordered the attack."

There was a loud intake of breath in the chamber as the members of the council realized that the attack was intended for the Boy Who Lived.

Amelia Bones was shocked on hearing her reasoning. She stated, "That's perhaps the most disgusting thing I have heard of. I would rather that you don't say anything else. You'll be put on trial in a week's time after which your sentence will be decided. Till then, you'll spend your time in Azkaban. Now the Aurors will escort you out."

When she was being taken away, Umbridge shot another glaring look at Dumbledore. She knew that nothing she said could implicate him, as he wasn't really involved in the Dementor attack, and as it is no one would've believed her. However, she was at least a little satisfied that by mentioning Fudge's grudge against Potter, she had almost certainly taken him down with her.

As soon as Umbridge left the chamber, Amelia Bones stood up and said, "Mr. Fudge, by your actions you've demonstrated that you're incapable of holding office as the Minister of Magic. You've used to media to fulfil a personal grudge against a student. You're blissfully unaware about the actions of your own officers. You're incompetent and are not setting a good example for the magical society. On the basis of these grounds, I approve Headmaster's Dumbledore's request, which calls for your dismissal. I'd now request a private jury meeting to vote on the issue."

The jury's vote was nearly unanimous, as apart from a couple of Fudge's faithful, nearly everyone else voted for his dismissal.

Amelia Bones, "On the basis of the jury's votes, Cornelius Fudge is hereby removed from office. The protocol dictates that the Head Auror is appointed as the Interim Minister before a final decision is taken. Thus, I'm pleased to announce that Rufus Scrimgeour will be our Interim Minister of Magic."

Rufus Scrimgeour beamed at the announcement. Things had worked out better than he expected. Not only had Fudge been removed, but even that ugly toad Umbridge had been kicked out.

Cornelius Fudge had his head in his hands on hearing the announcement. This was possibly worse than any outcome that he could have expected. He was a lowly commoner now. He had lost his post and he had absolutely no response to the accusations. However, what he did have was one last trick up his sleeve.

He stood up and said, "Madam Bones, I accept my removal from office and would like to apologise because I let the magical community down because of my actions."

He sat down before Madam Bones spoke again, "Now that the muggle killing issue has been sorted, I'd like to bring everyone's attention to our second matter of concern. Before his dismissal, Mr. Fudge had lodged a case on the behalf of Mr. And Mrs. Diggory in front of the Hogwarts Board of Governors. The Board has declared its verdict on this case and I hereby ask Mr. Eccleston, the representative of the Board of Governors, to come forth and deliver the verdict.

Dumbledore didn't know that a case had been lodged about Hogwarts. He looked around and saw Mr. Eccleston getting up from his seat and heading towards the front of the chamber.

Mr. Eccleston, who was perhaps not the most popular wizard, had every eye of the chamber on him as he headed towards Madam Amelia Bones. He reached up front, took out a piece of parchment and read, "The events that transpired at Hogwarts at the end of last year lead to the death of a student. On the basis of Diggory's request, whose son was killed, the Board have come to a decision that Headmaster Dumbledore didn't do enough to guarantee the safety of his students. We feel there is a need for a change in leadership at the school which teaches our young ones."

Dumbledore couldn't believe what he was hearing. Mr. Eccleston continued, "Based on support from the majority of the Board of Governors, Albus Dumbledore is hereby relieved of his duties as the Headmaster of Hogwarts."

(A/N: I'm really very sorry about the late update.

I hope you liked this chapter. A complete shift in power was necessary for the story to move forward.

Updates might be a little slow but I'll try my best to finish this story. Please read and review! )


	6. The Prefect Week

Chapter 6

**The Prefect Week**

Harry Potter was experiencing euphoria like he had never experienced before. Although he was living on an island under water, the news from the outside world had made his spirits rise considerably. The good news just seemed to keep on pouring in.

First, it was the mirror call, in which a clearly excited Neville had told Harry about the events that had transpired in the latest Wizengamot meet. Neville's grandmother was a respected member on the Wizengamot, and had informed him about the complete shift in power, and Neville had relayed the same news to Harry. Harry couldn't believe his luck. Both Dumbledore and Fudge had somehow lost their positions in the same meeting, thus putting a huge burden off Harry's shoulders. And if that wasn't enough, they had even managed to find the perpetrator behind the Dementor attack on Privet Drive, and even she was about to be put on trial soon. Harry had heard from Tonks about the Dementor attack which had killed the Dursleys, and he had been horrified. They had certainly made his life a living hell, but in his mind no one deserved to be bought to such an inhumane end. He was happy that the Umbridge woman who was responsible had been caught, and was pretty sure that the she would spend the best part of her life in Azkaban.

The second reason behind his happiness was the training regime that he'd started in the week with Sirius and Remus. Unlike Dumbledore, Sirius was a firm believer in the practical method, and Remus totally supported the idea. Remus had even insisted that the first step for Harry was physical development. The first two or three days of jogging, lifting weights and swimming had left Harry sore and bitter, but by the end of the week, he was actually starting to enjoy himself. Seeing Harry happy with his latest workout, Sirius had promised to move on to dueling practice in the coming sessions, which lead to Harry being very excited.

Harry had also started to enjoy his mirror calls immensely. He'd thanked Sirius numerous times for what he considered to be a most precious gift. He obviously missed Hermione and Ron, but his mirror friends had come to his rescue in a big way. Neville had been his usual self, someone whom you could talk to about anything in the world. His snippets of information from the Wizarding world had also helped keep Harry up to date.

Although her letters hadn't reflected it, Lisa was something of a firecracker. Once she'd opened up to Harry, she was full of jokes and great fun to talk to. Harry could spend hours talking to her, and was happy to have made such a great new friend.

As far as Tracey was concerned, after a couple of days of awkwardness, she had finally become comfortable with the idea of talking to Harry in a mirror. She was somewhat an introvert, but she came across as a very sensible person to Harry. Harry used to enjoy talking to her to, but the thing that unnerved him the most was the feeling he got in the pit of his stomach whenever her face came up on the mirror. When Harry had thought a little more about it, he convinced himself that he knew little about the girl, and also there was no way he could act on his feelings. This had helped him regain his composure a little, and he'd become much more comfortable talking to her. In fact, the last couple of days they had talked as if they had known each other for years, which had pleased Harry to no end.

The end of the week was near, and on Sunday evening, Harry and Sirius were both seated in the living room, both anxiously waiting for Tonks.

Harry said, "I just hope it all worked out, Sirius. Are you confident that he'll look at it?"

Sirius replied, "I know his from my Auror training days, Harry, and back then he was a very sensible man. As far as I know, he won't dismiss any issue, unless he has concrete evidence on the contrary. He's also been named Minister on a long term basis now, so he'll most certainly consider whatever his new Head Auror has to say to him."

Harry hoped that Sirius was right, "I just hope Tonks has been able to persuade him… "

"Well, he was always going to listen to one of his favorite Aurors!" exclaimed Tonks who had just walked into the room accompanied by Remus.

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Please tell me he said yes!"

Tonks replied, "Yes Harry, he did look at both the sets of Pensieve memories. Sirius, you were right, he always had a high opinion of you from your Auror training days, and thus it didn't take much from me to convince him to look at your set of memories. Getting him to look at Harry's set was surprisingly easier. He had seen the signs and seemed to have already made up his mind. "

Harry was overjoyed, "So does that mean… "

Remus interrupted him, "Yes Harry, it means that Minister Scrimgeour's reaction after watching the Pensieve memories was positive. He said that he'll start the formalities for a full pardon immediately. Also, as we speak an announcement is being by the Minister himself on the Wireless Wizarding Network informing the magical masses about the return of You-Know-Who."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Albus Dumbledore cut a frustrated figure as he presided over the meeting of the Order of the Phoenix which was being held at Grimmauld Place. The more he thought about it, he was unable to fathom how Cornelius' last throw of the dice had been so successful. After several years in the job, Albus Dumbledore was no longer the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and for the first time in his life, he felt helpless. Minerva had been appointed as the new Headmistress, and although she still hadn't lost faith in him, he knew that she wouldn't approve of anything that he tried to keep Harry Potter in control.

He was roused from his musings by the sound of a couple of loud pops. To his surprise, he found the Weasley twins standing in the middle of the room.

Severus Snape was the first to react to the twins' appearance as he bellowed, "What is the meaning of this? You two are not supposed to be here."

Fred was the one who responded, "Why, thank you for your warm welcome professor. As much as we wish that we weren't here, there's something that you need to hear."

While Fred was speaking, George had switched on the Wireless, and to the surprise of Order members, Rufus Scrimgeour's voice came out of it, "On behalf of the Ministry, I would like to make an announcement today, which should have been made a long time ago. One of the most feared Dark wizards of all time, He-who-must-not-be-named, has returned and he has also reformed his infamous group known as the Death Eaters. We at the Ministry of Magic are going to do everything in our power to stop this menace once and for all. Booklets with safety instructions will be delivered to your homes soon, and I hope that everyone abides by them. The Wizarding public will be kept updated in case any new information surfaces. Until then stay safe and please report and suspicious activity to the Ministry."

There was stunned silence inside the room for a couple of minutes which was broken by a short scream from Severus Snape, who was clutching his right arm. He immediately got up and informed Dumbledore, "I'll need to leave."

Dumbledore knew that he was being summoned by Voldemort, and told him to go ahead. After Snape's departure, Dumbledore addressed the rest of the Order and stated, "This is indeed a very interesting turn of events and I'm sure it must have made everyone in the room very happy. Now that the secret is out it must be our primary objective to recruit new members for the Order. We must be ready to fight, as a war approaches, and we need as many… "

He was interrupted as a voice came out of the Wireless again, "I, Stamford Jerkins, spokesperson of the Ministry of Magic would like to announce that on the basis of recent evidence, Mr. Sirius Black has been cleared of all charges against him. He was wrongly accused of murder and sentenced to a prison term without a trial, an act for which the Ministry apologizes. Suitable compensation will be paid to Mr. Black for his unwarranted time spent in Azkaban prison."

Dumbledore let out a sigh as the spokesperson continued, "On a related note, we have reason to believe that the crimes for which Mr. Black was accused, were actually the work of a wizard named Peter Pettigrew, who till now was presumed to be dead. A 'capture on sight' order has been issued for Peter Pettigrew and we urge the magical population to let us know if you're aware of his whereabouts. For more details please check the 'Daily Prophet' tomorrow. Thank you for your time."

There was a huge cheer from the Weasley twins, who were quickly thanked by Dumbledore and made to exit the room. He then went on to assign tasks to the various Order members regarding recruitment before calling an end to the meeting.

As Dumbledore sat back and watched the members departing from the room, he realized that with Sirius Black's pardon, he had completely lost the control that he had over Harry's life. Now that Sirius had been declared innocent, he would be legally recognized as Harry's Godfather, which didn't bode well at all for Dumbledore. He knew that he needed to do something to find Harry, to try and talk some sense into him, but his mind had run out of ideas. He had no option but to let nature run its course.

His thoughts were interrupted by a pat on his back and he turned around to see a furious looking Molly Weasley standing in front of him. She roared, "I went to Gringotts today Albus, to withdraw my usual weekly fee, but I was denied access. That stupid boy has blocked his assets. I demand an explanation!"

Dumbledore was calm as he replied, "There's no point in keeping up the charade, Molly. Harry knows that we've been stealing from him."

Molly wasn't one to easily give up, "But what about the efforts we have put in for the last 4 years to treat him as family? There was no way I would've let any of my family near that trouble seeker if it wasn't for you, Dumbledore. We deserve that money. It'd be best if you found a way for us to get it soon enough."

Dumbledore responded in a worn out voice, "I'm sorry, but there's nothing that can be done now, Molly."

To say that Molly Weasley was angry was an understatement. She yelled, "I'll force him to give the money, Dumbledore. I'll get my children to give him the cold shoulder when school starts, and once he realizes that he has no more friends, he'll come crawling back to us. He's going to regret… "

Dumbledore had had enough and he shut the door of the hall, leaving a screaming Molly inside. As he was about to apparate out of Grimmauld Place, he stopped when he heard a voice. He turned around to find Hermione sitting at the foot of the stairs in front of the entrance.

When she saw him looking at her, she got up and asked the question she'd been waiting to ask for the last hour, "Is there any news on Harry, professor? Please, I really need to know."

Dumbledore responded, "No, nothing as of now, Hermione. All we know is that he's with Sirius and they are in hiding somewhere. Sirius has just been declared innocent by the Ministry, so they should be back soon. You've been writing to him like I told you to, right?"

Hermione's eyes lit up when she heard of Sirius' pardon. She replied, "Yes, but the owls just come back with the letter undelivered. It's really great news about Sirius' pardon though. I hope they come back soon."

Dumbledore just looked at her with a sad look in his eyes and said, "So do I, Hermione. So do I."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Severus Snape had apparated to the Riddle Manor and wasn't surprised to find that Voldemort was furious. When Snape had walked in, Voldemort was taking out his fury by using the Cruciatus curse on Rookwood, a Death Eater who was one of Voldemort's moles in the Ministry of Magic.

After Voldemort was done with Rookwood, he went up to his chair and sat down facing his followers. The Death Eaters bowed down in front of him and he then ordered them to stand up with a wave of his hand. After they all stood up, Voldemort proclaimed, "As many of you may know by now, the Ministry has become aware of my return to the magical world and even announced the same to the entire Wizarding public. Due to incompetence of the people, who were placed by me at the Ministry of Magic to provide us with information, we have been unable to stop this from happening."

Voldemort shot a dirty look at the incompetent Rookwood before continuing, "Now that the Wizarding public is aware of my return, it's time we let them know about the extent of our power. I have been planning something for a while now, and soon you'll have to execute it."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "My loyal followers have suffered for too long in the walls of Azkaban. The time has come to reward them for their loyalty. In a week's time, you shall attack Azkaban."

Voldemort then proceeded to give them instructions about the attack, before finishing with, "The time is near for you to free your brethren. The Wizarding world needs to know of the extent of our power. The new Minister needs to be shown what a big mistake he's made by announcing my return."

With that, the Death Eaters dispersed, but Voldemort asked Snape to stay back. When everyone had left, Voldemort motioned for Snape to come ahead and Snape did as ordered.

Voldemort spoke, "Severus, what information do you have on the Potter boy?"

Severus replied, "I'm sorry to say this, my lord, but the information is not good. Black seems to have done a very good job of hiding Potter."

Voldemort was not pleased on hearing this. He hissed, "You know I need him, Severus. I need to know what's inside the prophecy and it would be best if I got the information via the boy."

Snape responded, "I'll try and investigate more, my lord. I'll get more information to you as soon as I can."

Voldemort knew that there was nothing more that could be gleaned from talking to Severus. He dismissed him, "Very well, Severus. You better get on the job quickly and get me results."

Snape bowed down, kissed the hem of Voldemort's robes and left. After Snape had left, Voldemort sat back, trying to think of ways to lure out the Potter boy.

Although Voldemort's existence had been revealed to the Wizarding public, he couldn't expect to go and get the prophecy globe from the Ministry which would likely be swarming with officials from various departments. His Death Eaters weren't prepared for a large scale assault on the Ministry.

The Potter boy was essential for his plan, and one way or another; he needed to ensure that the boy came out of hiding.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The next day, Tracey relaxed on the sofa in the Longbottom Manor while listening to Harry on the mirror, relating a most astounding tale of his Godfather's escape from Azkaban and his subsequent pardon by the Ministry. She was happy to hear that the boy who had gone through so much was finally having something to cherish in his life.

To her surprise, even her life has taken a turn for the better in the last few days. If someone would have told her last week that she would be relaxing at a Manor and talking to Harry Potter, she'd have laughed right in their face. But here she was, doing that very thing, and loving every moment of it.

Once Harry had finished his tale, Tracey expressed her pleasure, "Harry, am really so happy that things are working out for you. Please pass on my congratulations to Sirius too. "

Harry smiled and assured her that he would, "I'll most certainly do that. After so many years on the run, it'll be a great feeling for him to roam about in the Wizarding World as a free man."

Tracey responded, "It would be a great feeling indeed. I wish I could feel the same way, but after the encounter with Nott, I'm scared to even get out of the manor."

A hardened look came on Harry's face when he heard this. He spoke, "You don't need to be scared of anyone, Tracey. You are… "

Harry was interrupted by the fluttering sound of the wings of an owl on Tracey's end. Tracey excused herself, and looked up at the owl flying near the ceiling of the manor, with a letter tied to one of its legs. The owl quickly dropped the letter onto her lap and flew away, without even waiting around for an owl treat.

Harry patiently waited at the other end while Tracey finished reading her letter. When she came back to the mirror, she had an almost goofy grin on her face.

Harry spoke, "Wow. You look really happy. Who was the letter from?"

Tracey responded, "It was from Hogwarts. I've been made Slytherin Prefect, Harry!"

Harry was surprised, but happy on hearing her news, "That's amazing. Congratulations Tracey. You deserve it!"

Tracey thanked him, "Thanks Harry. I was really not expecting this at all. I mean, I've got good grades, but am really not one of the boisterous personalities among the Slytherin Fifth Years."

Harry was not really surprised to hear her stating such a low view of herself. He stated, "You're good for the job, Tracey, and am sure that Headmistress McGonagall has made the right choice."

Tracey gave him a bright smile. Harry continued, "Who's the other prefect by the way? I hope it's not that blond ponce Malfoy!"

Tracey replied, "Don't worry, Harry. It's not him. The other prefect is actually a very close friend of mine, Daphne Greengrass."

Harry was relieved but even a little surprised at the same time. He asked, "Two girls as prefects? Isn't it usually a boy and a girl?"

Tracey answered, "I doubt there's any rule in the Hogwarts rulebook. It's at the discretion of the Headmistress."

Harry was about to respond, when he was again interrupted by commotion on Tracey's end. He waited serenely till the commotion which majorly consisted of girlish screams subsided.

As soon as the commotion had stopped, to Harry's surprise, Lisa was the one whose face appeared on the mirror. She almost screamed with joy, "Harry, even I got my Hogwarts letter and I'm Ravenclaw prefect!"

Harry congratulated her, and then passed on his commiserations to Neville who was the only one among the three at Longbottom Manor who hadn't received the Prefect badge.

Lisa came back to the mirror, "This is such a great day, Harry. We all wish you were here, and we could've celebrated together!"

Harry, who knew he wasn't getting off the island anytime soon, responded with a sad smile, "I wish so too."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Hermione Granger stared happily at the Prefect badge in her hand, while she sat in her and Ginny's room at Grimmauld Place. She'd always hoped to be made Prefect, and she was elated to see that her hard work had paid off.

However, there was still a tinge of sadness in her mind as she has nobody in the House with whom she could celebrate her happiness with.

Ron had barely talked to her, after she had turned him down when he had asked her to be his girlfriend. She'd been surprised at his proposal, as according to her Ron was only a good friend. However, Ron had been rather pissed at her rejection and avoided her ever since.

Ginny on the other hand, seemed to be spending an awful lot of time with her new boyfriend, Michael Corner, at his house. Hermione had been a little taken aback by Ginny's relationship with Corner, as she'd always thought that Ginny had a huge crush on Harry. However, she'd decided it was not her place to interfere in Ginny's life, and had refrained from commenting on her relationship.

To add to her woes, her best friend had gone into hiding with his Godfather. For the life of her, she couldn't understand why Harry hadn't contacted her yet. She'd written letter after letter to him, but they had all come back undelivered.

During the summer, she had felt extremely bad about withholding information about the Order from him, but she'd just followed Dumbledore's orders. The more she thought about it, she had come to the conclusion that it was perhaps the lack of information that had caused Harry to take such a drastic step and disappear.

She needed to apologize to him and tell him all about the Order, and the wonderful work they were doing against Voldemort. She needed him to know, that although her letters might have indicated otherwise, she only had his best interests at heart.

She needed him to know that she cared for him.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A couple of days later, Harry sat on the couch in living room of the Blacks' Den, waiting for Sirius and Remus to return. Sirius had decided to go to the Ministry so as to complete some of the remaining paperwork, which would officially make him Harry's legal guardian.

Remus, on the other hand, had gone off to Gringotts so as to meet with Lord Ragnok and get an overview of Harry's money and properties. After receiving Lord Ragnok's reply via Dobby, it had been decided by Sirius and Remus that it wasn't safe for Harry to leave the island. Thus, Harry had written another letter to Lord Ragnok stating that Remus was to be given detailed information about his wealth, and Remus had taken the letter with him to the bank.

As he sat there, he couldn't help but feel morose. He wondered whether he'd be ever getting off the island in the foreseeable future. There was no doubt that he was certainly enjoying himself, but a part of him couldn't help but feel trapped.

He still hadn't told any of his three new friends that he wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts. It gave him a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, that he wouldn't be able to meet Tracey in person. He'd really started to like her, and always used to look forward to talking to her. He also enjoyed talking with Lisa and Neville, but talking with Tracey was a completely different feeling, one he hadn't been able to decipher as yet.

And then there was Hermione, his supposed best friend. He still hadn't found out whose side she was on, and it was a question that was killing him. He really needed to talk things over with her, but in the current situation he was helpless.

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of both Sirius and Remus. Both of them had big grins on their faces, which helped lift Harry's spirits a little.

Remus was the first to speak, "The meeting with Lord Ragnok went very well, Harry. He was very courteous once he read your letter, and gave me a detailed overview about your assets. I brought the list with me, as I thought you would be interested in going through it."

Harry took the parchments which Remus was holding out, and scanned through them for the next minute or so. He was absolutely speechless by the end of it.

The Goblins had been investing the Potter Gold for decades. His current estate was 7 times the size of his original estate. His Educational Trust Vault currently contained a total of 80,000 Galleons and the three Potter family vaults currently contained 46 Million Galleons. He also owned a number of artifacts and 23 residential properties around the world.

Sirius looked at the dazed expression on Harry's face and couldn't suppress a laugh, "Wipe the look of your face, my dear godson. You are the sole heir of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter. You better get used to having money to throw around."

On hearing this, Harry couldn't help but laugh. He had expected his parents to have left him a decent sum of money, but this was beyond his wildest imagination.

"You'll also be happy to know that Molly Weasley tried to make another withdrawal from your account, but was denied access" stated Remus.

Both Harry and Sirius laughed at Molly's predicament, but at the same time Harry couldn't help but feel hurt. He'd always thought of Mrs. Weasley as a mother, and she betrayed him in a horrible way.

As the laughter subsided, Sirius spoke again, "My work at the Ministry went well too, without any hassles. A lot of people were surprised to see me out in the open, but it was nice to be the center of attraction. I especially enjoyed the look that the pretty receptionist at the Ministry counter gave me."

He winked at Harry before continuing, "So, the good news is, that for all intents and purposes, I'm now officially your legal guardian."

A huge smile lit up Harry's face and he jumped up from the couch and hugged Sirius. He was absolutely delighted that the Ministry had created no hassles. Although he had always thought of Sirius as family, it was nice to have it recognized legally.

As Harry sat down, Sirius spoke again, "Well, there's one more thing, Harry. I happened to have a very interesting encounter today."

Harry listened intently as Sirius continued, "I was offered a job by a strict but very kind hearted lady."

Harry was surprised on hearing this, but Sirius went on, "We also happened to have a discussion about you and once we were done, she asked me to pass on this to you."

Sirius then handed Harry a badge. Harry looked on in astonishment at the badge with a shining big 'P' on it.

Harry asked, "Is this… "

Sirius interrupted him and replied, "Yes Harry, I happened to meet with Headmistress McGonagall at the Ministry and she offered me the job of the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher. After some discussion, I decided to take the job, and the Headmistress convinced me that I obviously shouldn't be going to Hogwarts alone."

Harry couldn't believe his luck. His Godfather was the new Defence teacher at Hogwarts and he himself had just been appointed Gryffindor prefect. But best of all,

He was going back to Hogwarts!

(A/N: I've made a few modifications to the earlier chapters in the story, majority being grammatical corrections, and changing a line here or there. You can go through them again, if you want to and have the time.

As for the story, I hope you like how it's gone so far. I'm still pondering over ideas as to how Lisa can be developed as a romantic interest for Harry, and any suggestions would be much appreciated.

I look forward to reading your reviews. Cheers!)


	7. The Auror of Azkaban

(Correction: In chapter 6, I've removed the part with Tonks as Head Auror, as it was pointed out to me that she's too young. Consider her to be a normal auror, but one of Scrimgeour's favorites)

Chapter 7

**The Auror of Azkaban**

Rufus Scrimgeour was seated in his office going through some papers. For the past two weeks since he'd been appointed as the Minister of Magic, he had been working day and night to get the Ministry into proper shape again. He had known since a long time that majority of the people working in the top positions in the Ministry were not worthy of their position. He had ensured that these people were relieved of their duties, and suitable replacements chosen, only after a rigorous testing procedure.

He had also realized that the Ministry finances were a mess, and there was clear evidence of bribes being taken from suspected Death Eaters. He had immediately ordered the Aurors to issue a warrant for the arrest of Fudge. Fudge had tried his best to escape arrest, but within three days Nymphadora Tonks had managed to arrest him, and he was now locked in a Ministry cell, awaiting trial for abusing his position of power.

All in all, Rufus had been extremely busy since his appointment, and he still knew that there was a lot of work to be done. Thus, he could have very well done without John Dawlish barging into his office, and interrupting him.

"What's the matter, Dawlish?" said a clearly irate Rufus.

John Dawlish, one of the Ministry's leading aurors, was perspiring, and had a clearly tensed look on his face. He responded, "We have a big problem, Minister. The Death Eaters have attacked Azkaban."

Rufus, who wasn't expecting to hear such grave news, sprang up from his seat. This was perhaps one of the worst things that could've have happened. He managed to calm himself down and asked, "What's the current status?"

Dawlish replied, "Shacklebolt has already left for the prison with a team of aurors. I was told to stay behind and inform you."

Rufus thought for a moment and stated, "They can do with all the help they can get. Let's go!"

Dawlish was taken aback by the courage of Scrimgeour. Never had Fudge demonstrated this kind of bravery. Yet, he knew that the Minister would be taking a huge risk, and tried to stop him, "But Minister, it's too risky for you…"

Rufus interrupted him, "You don't need to worry about me. Lead the way."

Within a matter of minutes, Rufus found himself on a boat accompanied by Auror Dawlish, heading towards Azkaban Prison. He could see fire in the distance, where Azkaban was located. It seemed as if the damage had already been done. Voldemort's plan had suceeded.

Soon, he stepped onto the island and was stunned to notice that not even a single Dementor was in sight. There was a clear sense of doom in the air, and an eerie silence surrounded the island.

After looking around for a few minutes, he saw Shacklebolt, who had a clearly distressed look on his face, having a talk with another Auror named Proudfoot.

Kingsley Shacklebolt, newly appointed Head Auror, looked up and saw the Minister approaching. He excused himself and walked towards the Minister. He stated, "Minister, you shouldn't be here. It's not safe."

Rufus paid no heed to his warning. He asked, "I assume the attack is over. Tell me what happened?"

Kingsley realized that he was not going to convince the Minister to leave so easily. He replied, "As you may have heard Minister, the Death Eaters attacked Azkaban with the mission to free the ones who were jailed at the time of You-Know-Who's disappearance. By the time we came to know of it, and reached the island, the attack was in full swing and the Dementors were clearly siding with the Death Eaters."

Rufus let out an exasperated sigh at this proclamation. The Dementors were now firmly on Voldemort's side and that would certainly complicate matters. He motioned for Kingsley to continue.

Kingsley continued, "It was a fierce fight sir, and majority of our energy and efforts were spend in driving the Dementors away. However, we did manage to get a few hits on the Death Eaters. Since we were clearly outnumbered, many of them managed to escape. We are in the process of searching the island for the casualties."

Rufus asked, "What's the current casualty count?"

Kingsley replied, "We lost a couple of capable aurors in the fight. Williamson and Robards are no more. Six of our promising Auror trainees had their souls sucked out by the Dementors. Also, all the human guards were killed by the Death Eaters when they attacked. As for the Death Eaters, till now we have been able to locate the bodies of Thorfinn Rowle and both the male Lestranges. "

Rufus was enraged. Although they'd managed to eliminate a few Death Eaters, it had been at the cost of so many from their own side, and he had been unable to do anything about it. He should've known that the Dementors would defect to Voldemort. He should've taken precautionary measures, but he hadn't and now it had come back to haunt him.

His musings were interrupted by a loud shout from the auror named Proudfoot. The auror almost ran towards the group.

As soon as he came face to face with Rufus, he almost shouted with excitement, "Sir, another body has been found. It was so badly mutilated that we were unable to understand who it was, but now we know.

Rufus asked, "Who is it?"

Proudfoot responded in a breathless voice, "It's Bellatrix Lestrange, sir. She's dead."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Voldemort sat in his chamber as he awaited the return of his most loyal Death Eaters, those who had spent years in Azkaban for supporting his cause.

He was especially looking forward to seeing Bella again. She was undoubtedly the most loyal among them all and also knew how to fulfill his more carnal desires. He had sampled Narcissa Malfoy on his return but she was too bland for his taste.

He soon heard multiple pops which signaled the return of his Death Eaters from Azkaban.

His loud voice boomed in the chambers, "It's a pleasure to see you again my friends. It's been too long."

On hearing his voice, all those who had been imprisoned rushed forward to kneel at his feet and kiss his robe. He looked down expecting to see his Bella with the same hungry look in her eyes. However, she wasn't there.

He spoke again, "I see that a couple of our numbers are missing."

When no one responded, the Dark Lord's temper rose. He immediately performed Legilimency on one of his minions to find out what had happened at Azkaban.

His anger grew as the scene played out in front of his eyes. He saw a young blond Auror torture Bella mercilessly. He saw his Bella crying out in pain and screaming for help. He was shocked at the amount of power which was put on display by the young auror, as Bella continued to scream. He saw how his followers tried to interfere but found themselves repelled by a strong shield which was put up by the young auror. He saw the utter helplessness in his Bella's eyes as she breathed her last.

Voldemort's magic flared up after what he had just witnessed. A strong wind began to blow in the chamber as windows were shattered and tables crumbled. The Death Eaters cowered with their heads bowed down as they looked to escape the fury of their Lord.

In his rage induced state, Voldemort bellowed, "Who was the one responsible? I need a name."

One of the Death Eaters meekly responded, "We do not know, my lord. He must have been a new recruit."

"_Crucio_"

As the Death Eater who has responded struggled and screamed under the Cruciatus, Voldemort turned to the rest of his followers and hissed, "Find him. Get him to me. He will regret the day he decided to incur the wrath of Lord Voldemort."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Harry was still in the euphoria of returning to Hogwarts when Sirius broke the news of the Azkaban attack to him. He sat stunned as he listened to Sirius relate the tale of how the Death Eaters had invaded Azkaban. He was pleased to hear that the Aurors had managed to interfere with their escape. He was especially surprised when he heard that a rookie Auror recruit named Edward Jacobs had managed to end the terror named Bellatrix Lestrange.

Harry couldn't help asking, "Who is this Jacobs guy, Sirius? How come have I never heard of him?"

Sirius responded, "He passed out of Hogwarts just a year back, Harry. I had a talk with Tonks and she said that even majority of her fellow aurors were stunned at the amount of power displayed by him. From what she said, he was always a very average wizard."

"So what, did his power grow overnight? Was he interrogated about how he managed to get rid of her? Perhaps he can help us out in the war? " questioned Harry.

Sirius thought a little before answering, "Perhaps he can, Harry. But from what Tonks said, it appears as if even he wasn't sure about how he managed to generate so much power."

He then got up from his seat in the living room, "I think I need to Tonks about this in a little more detail. I'll be going to the Ministry. Anything you need from outside, Harry?"

Harry shook his head in the negative. Sirius gave him a smile and nod before leaving the room.

Harry then sat down alone and pondered over the recent turn of events. He was positively delighted that Bellatrix Lestrange was dead, but there was something very odd in the manner in which she had been killed. He wished Hermione was there to help him sort it out. She was usually the one whose cool head helped him to make more sense of such situations. He again found himself hoping that Hermione wasn't involved in Dumbledore's plot.

He wondered whether a talk with Tracey might help and then went to his room to fetch the mirror. He reached his room and spoke in his mirror to call the one at Neville's. Soon, he was staring into the face of a grinning Neville Longbottom.

Looking at Neville's face reminded Harry of the courtroom memory which he had seen the previous year of Bellatrix Lestrange being convicted for the torture of the Longbottom's. However, Neville didn't know that Harry knew about his parents.

Neville told him about how he had read about Lestrange's death in the Prophet. He then told Harry about his parent's current condition and how delighted he was that they had finally been avenged. Harry listened patiently and was happy for his friend. He even made a decision to visit Neville's parents at St. Mungo's whenever he got the chance. Neville then informed him that he planned on going to the Ministry and thanking Edward Jacobs for the favor he had done to the Longbottom family. Harry thought it was a splendid idea and that he should certainly go through with it.

After a little more small talk, Neville passed on the mirror to Tracey. Harry felt a warm flutter in his stomach as her face appeared in the mirror. This flutter intensified as she gave him a glowing smile and asked him about his day.

Harry soon managed to compose himself and told her about all that had happened, and the information provided by Tonks regarding the Jacobs character. She agreed with him that Jacobs' behavior was certainly odd. However, even she was no closer to figuring the reason than he was.

Tracey then passed on the mirror to Lisa who was her usual excited self. She had heard the talk between Tracey and Harry, and she had a potential solution. She informed him that she would be visiting the Ministry along with Neville to thank Jacobs and both of them would try to worm some information out of him.

Harry was a bit apprehensive about anything good coming from this, but he agreed as there was no harm in it. The conversation then drifted to their return to Hogwarts and how excited all of them were to return to the school that they had come to treat as a second home.

As Harry finished his talk and kept the mirror on his bedside table, he found himself wondering what this year would bring. Whatever it was, he just hoped that he was up to the task.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Edward Jacobs was having a rather unusual day. He was not one accustomed to be in the spotlight, but that's where he found himself.

He was seated in front of the Minister of Magic, who was praising him for the excellent work that he had done. The Minister had also assured him that he would be given a bravery award for the brilliant work that he had carried out at Azkaban.

After a long talk with the Minister, he had taken his leave and was now on his way out of the Ministry. He apparated to his one bedroom flat and sat down on the couch in front of the fireplace, thinking about the day's events.

He quite clearly remembered that he had taken out Lestrange. However, he couldn't quite fathom how he had generated the power to torture her for so long. He thought about the possibilities, but nothing seemed to make sense.

He finally decided that he didn't really care much about the explanation as his act had put him in the Minister's good graces. Now he could finally hope for the future he desired. Perhaps he could be Head Auror in a few years…

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard someone mutter a spell behind him. The very next second he found that his body stiffened and realized that he had been put in a body bind.

He tried to struggle, but was unable to make any movement. He watched on helplessly as a hooded man put an object in his hand, which was followed by an awkward pull around his navel as he was portkeyed away from his flat.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Hermione Granger was getting more and more frustrated every day. She had absolutely no one to talk to and the silence was killing her. Ron had kept on ignoring her and Ginny was rarely to be seen.

As usual, she had taken refuge in her books but her mind kept diverting to the well being to her one and only true friend.

She was aware that the last few days had seen a major change in the Wizarding World. She so desperately wanted to discuss these changes with Harry, but all her attempts to contact him had failed spectacularly.

While she sat there thinking about any other way in which she could interact with Harry, she was interrupted by a soft knock on her door.

To her surprise, it was Minerva McGonagall who entered her room. She quickly jumped off the bed and stood up in front of her new Headmistress.

"Good afternoon, Miss Granger."

Hermione returned the greeting and then Minerva sat down on the couch in the room, whereas Hermione sat on the edge of her bed.

Minerva was the one to speak first, "Miss Granger, the reason for my visit is that I have some news for you regarding your fellow Gryffindor, Mr. Potter."

Hermione's eyes lit up expectantly as she heard Harry's name. Minerva continued, "Well, I happened to meet him Godfather Mr. Black the other day and I was informed that he would not be returning to Hogwarts."

Hermione felt a chill go down her spine as she heard Minerva's words. She couldn't believe that Harry was not coming back. She refused to accept the possibility that she might not see Harry again.

Minerva saw the look on her face and quickly moved to remove her fears, "However, I was able to convince Mr. Black otherwise and thus both he and Mr. Potter will be returning to Hogwarts. Mr. Black will be your new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher and as you may know by now, Mr. Potter will be the other Gryffindor Prefect."

Hermione's face brightened considerably when she heard the good news. It wouldn't be long before she would be meeting Harry again. He was coming back!

She expressed her delight, "That is excellent news, Headmistress. I can't wait to see Harry again."

Minerva was pleased to see Hermione's positive reaction, "That is good to hear, Miss Granger. Now the reason I came down here was to tell you that this might be a difficult year for Mr. Potter. As you may know, his life has undergone some serious changes and there is even the threat of Voldemort looming large. I wanted your assurance that you will always be at his side. My predecessor made some glaring mistakes with the upbringing of that child, and I for one would never want to see that happen again. In case something goes wrong, I want you to come to me first. Can I trust you, Miss Granger?"

Hermione replied with a determined look, "I have always been by his side, Headmistress. You have my word that I will do all I can to help him this year too."

Minerva smiled at her favorite pupil, "I knew I could expect you to do the right thing, Miss Granger. Have a good day."

With that, Minerva McGonagall departed the room leaving a positively ecstatic Hermione behind.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Lord Voldemort looked at the mangled body of Edward Jacobs which was lying at his feet. He had used the vilest of torture methods possible to avenge the death of his Bella, and the auror had been unable to survive.

As he stared at the body, Voldemort found himself wondering about how easy it had been to capture Bella's killer. He never liked it when things were too easy, as that to him was an indication that something had gone wrong.

However, Voldemort had used all means including Legilimency and Polyjuice reversal spells, to ensure that they had caught the right man. All the tests had clearly indicated that Edward Jacobs was the one who had killed Bellatrix Lestrange.

After a satisfied smirk, he ordered one of his minions to deposit the body Edward Jacobs at the Ministry Atrium.

He had particularly mutilated Jacobs' body to an appalling extent. People needed to realize what would be in their fate if they messed with Lord Voldemort.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The man wrapped his arms around his girlfriend as he contemplated over the success of the first step of his plan. They were both drained after a passionate session of lovemaking and were now resting on the large bed in the manor.

She turned his head towards him and asked, "Don't you think it would have been better for you to get rid of Lestrange in your own body, honey? It would have sent a stronger message to our enemies."

He responded, "The Polyjuice was the best way to do it, love. After that it was a simple task of getting hold of him and inserting the memory in his head."

She laughed, "It's a simple task only for you. The rest of the Wizarding population can hardly even dream of accomplishing such a feat."

He took his hand towards her center to thank her for her praise. She let out a loud moan as he spoke, "Yes, I am the all powerful one, aren't I? It's good that they don't know of the extent of my power though, and if things go the way I have planned, no one will ever find out."

She just grinned as she said, "If you don't want them to, they won't."

(A/N: Yes, I would love it if you don't kill me for the delay in the update. I assure you that I'm not abandoning this story. It would be rather cruel of me to do so, especially with the introduction of the mystery couple.

Please read and review. You know that I love it when you do so. And yeah, the mystery couple won't be revealed for some time, so feel free to put up your guesses. Cheers!)


	8. Land Ahoy!

Chapter 8

**Land Ahoy!**

The news of Edward Jacobs' brutal killing had spread like wildfire in the Wizarding World and the reactions of the wizarding public were varied. In the case of majority of the people, Voldemort's ploy had succeeded and he had managed to instill fear in their minds.

On the other hand, there were some people who were angry and resolved to do whatever they could to honor Jacobs' memory. A small group had even arranged a protest march in front of the ministry for not providing the deceased Auror with the necessary protection.

Rufus Scrimgeour had been forced to personally apologize to the angry mob for his oversight. He was genuinely sorry for what had happened to the Auror and had already launched a full scale investigation into the matter. To appease the public, he had even promised a twenty-five thousand galleon award to Jacobs' family and a posthumous Order of Merlin, Third Class. Coming from an Auror background, he hated the fact that he had to resort to such a political ploy to get the support of the public. However, he was becoming used to it as he had realized that the only way to survive in the system was to become a part of it.

There was a fair turnout for Jacobs' funeral which was held in a church that had been chosen by his family. Even the Minister of Magic had shown up in order to pay his last respects to the brave Auror.

On behalf of the Ministry, Kingsley Shacklebolt made a passionate speech in which he praised the Auror and called upon the members of the Wizarding to stand united so that they could root out the source of evil.

After the funeral, as Rufus Scrimgeour made his way out of the church, he found himself wondering about how many more such funerals he would need to attend. He hoped that the number would be low, but deep down in his heart he knew that he was wrong.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Harry was talking on the mirror to both Lisa and Neville who had just returned from Edward Jacobs' funeral. Neville was distraught that he had not been able to thank the person who had unknowingly helped him so much. Both Harry and Lisa were trying their best to comfort him and it took him some time to settle down and return to normal.

Lisa decided to take Neville to his room so that he could get some rest. Harry then had a quick chat with Tracey and advised her to take care of Neville before terminating the call.

Both Sirius and Remus had been listening in on their conversation with interest. They had known Frank and Alice Longbottom since their Hogwarts days and knew the hurt that Neville must be feeling. Sirius had described Bellatrix as an evil woman who would stoop to any level to get what she wanted. He was ashamed that she had once been a part of his family.

Harry had been doing a lot of thinking regarding the Jacobs issue and he decided to put forth his thoughts to the Marauders, "I think there is something very odd going on here. First we have a relatively unknown Auror who tortures and kills Lestrange, demonstrating an unusually large amount of power in the process. Then, the same Auror is abducted from his flat and killed fairly easily. Doesn't that sound a little weird to you?"

Sirius was the one who responded, "Even I am finding it hard to believe. I agree with you that if he had all that power, then how is it that he didn't use it when he was attacked. There was not a single Death Eater casualty. In fact according to Tonks, there was even no sign of a struggle at his flat."

As they pondered over the Auror's untimely and rather odd death, Remus was the only one who came up with a plausible explanation, "I think he was just taken by surprise. He clearly had a hard day, especially after his activities at Azkaban. He must not have been expecting a revenge attack so soon and must have let his guard down for a bit."

Both Sirius and Harry agreed that it was possibly the only way to explain the incident. They hadn't deduced anything solid, but based on the lack of evidence they hardly had any other choice.

The two marauders and Harry then decided to indulge in a bit of dueling training, so that they could lessen their frustration. Dueling was indeed an excellent stress-buster.

Harry was happy to learn under the tutelage of Sirius and Remus. He wasn't gaining excessive power, but he had become quick on his feet and was learning a lot.

It was miles better than sitting idle at Privet Drive. His life had changed indeed.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It had been three days since the funeral, and Albus Dumbledore had just finished another unsatisfactory meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. Snape had conveyed that Voldemort was in the 'wait-and-watch' mode. He had also reported that the Dark Lord was delighted by the fear that Jacobs' murder had generated in the Wizarding Public. There wasn't much else to discuss, and after informing the members to keep an eye out for anything out of place, he had adjourned the meeting.

Dumbledore had been taken aback by the limited turnout of the Order members. As expected, both Sirius and Remus wanted nothing to do with the Order anymore. Even Tonks had informed Dumbledore that with the Ministry being in capable hands, she didn't see the need of being a part of the Order. Kingsley also was extremely busy with his new role as the Head of the DMLE and he hadn't been able to find time.

Albus confronted Molly Weasley about her absence, and she defended her decision by citing that Albus had broken the promises that he had made. Arthur, who had attended the meeting, had earlier tried to convince her otherwise but she wouldn't budge.

Dumbledore then threatened that if she kept up her uncompromising attitude, he would be forced to evict her family from Grimmauld Place. Molly decided to take the threat as a personal insult. She needed to prove a point to Albus and thus she forced her family to leave the Headquarters and move back to the Burrow.

Dumbledore was flabbergasted at the turn of events. He was surely losing control of the War and he was unable to do anything about it.

After the Weasleys had left, he decided to inform the Granger girl that as she had no more company here, it would be best for her to return to her parents.

Just as he was about to do so, he was interrupted by the sound of a pop signaling the arrival of Minerva McGonagall. She had also been unable to attend the meeting, as she had been caught up with work at Hogwarts.

When Dumbledore informed her about Granger's situation, she told him that she would go and talk to the girl. Dumbledore nodded and left for the study so that he could give some thought to the events that had transpired in the last few days.

As he sat down and relaxed, he got the nagging feeling that he was forgetting something important. He knew that something had struck him as odd about Jacobs' torture of Bellatrix, but he couldn't place his finger. He struggled to get the thought at the forefront of his mind, but he was unable to.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he barely even acknowledged when Minerva informed him that she was taking Miss Granger along with her.

As he sat alone in the house, he realized that he had been subjected to a memory charm. He knew that the memory was important. He just had to find a way to remember it.

He tried to strain his mind and despite all his efforts, he soon passed out.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Minerva side-along apparated Hermione to her cottage in Brighton. As Hermione looked around, she wasn't the least bit surprised to find that everything was prim and proper.

It was a modest three bedroom cottage, and Minerva directed her to the room in which she would be staying for the remainder of the week, before her return to Hogwarts.

After Hermione had unpacked her stuff, she went out of the room and found Minerva looking over some papers in the living room.

Minerva spotted her and asked her to sit on the couch and make herself comfortable. As soon as she had sat down Hermione proceeded to thank her Headmistress, "Headmistress, I would really like to thank you for your kindness. With my parents on vacation, I would have really struggled to find a place to stay."

Minerva was pleased by the gratitude shown by one of her favorite students, "Don't worry about it, Miss Granger. I know what you were going through in that excuse for a house, and this was the least I could do."

Hermione smiled and nodded. Minerva went back to her papers for a few minutes, before turning to her with a serious expression. She asked, "Miss Granger, I need to talk with you about something important regarding Mr. Potter. Would now be an appropriate time?"

Hermione responded with a vigorous nod, "Sure."

Minerva proceeded, "This may seem a little awkward to you, so please hear me out first. Do you know of any plot which was made to control Mr. Potter's life?"

Hermione was confused and responded with a shake of her head, "No."

Minerva was pleased and continued, "Have you by heard of a Witch's oath?"

Hermione had naturally read about it and confirmed, "Yes."

Minerva was not surprised to see that she was aware of the oath, "Well, will you mind making an oath which guarantees that you have not been involved in any plot to control Mr. Potter and that you have his best interests at heart?"

Hermione was surprised at her request, but knew that she had nothing to lose. She went ahead with the oath, "I, Hermione Jean Granger, swear on my magic that I have not been involved in any plot to control Harry Potter's life. I am fiercely loyal to him, and have his best interests at heart. So I say it, so mote be it."

A green ray of light erupting from her wand signaled that the oath had been successfully completed. When she looked at McGonagall, she saw a large smile on her face. Hermione had never really seen the stern Scot smile so broadly, and she was pleasantly surprised.

Hermione couldn't resist asking, "What was that oath about, Headmistress? Is there anything that I should know?"

Minerva responded, "I am sorry, Miss Granger, but that's all I am aware of. As you know, I met with Sirius Black recently and he agreed about Harry's return to Hogwarts only after I had made a similar oath. He also requested me to make you take a similar oath. I was a bit reluctant to do so at Grimmauld Place and had planned on approaching you after you had returned to school. However, this was a better opportunity and I thought that the earlier the better. I will now endeavor to pass on the message to Mr. Black as soon as I can."

Hermione was undoubtedly surprised by the oath and what it entailed. She desperately needed more information, but knew that she had no way to gather the same.

She found herself hoping that September 1st arrived as soon as possible.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It was his last night in the Blacks' Den, and Harry Potter was excited. He had thoroughly enjoyed the last month in the Blacks' Den but now it was time to go back.

As he lay down on his bed, he reflected on the month that had passed. The Wizarding World had undergone many changes and he was generally pleased by what had happened. There was a strong Government in charge now and he hoped that they could play a critical role in the elimination of Voldemort.

On a personal level, he was looking forward to an adventure free school year but he knew that was unlikely.

He was very satisfied with the training that he had undergone and felt that he was better prepared for the coming year.

The morning runs had certainly helped him to develop more physically and had even helped him to become more flexible. Dueling practice with Sirius and Remus was always fun. Lately, they had started to double team him and that had not been the pleasant experience though.

He had been intrigued when Tonks had started teaching him about a branch of magic called Occlumency. This branch had been an integral part of her Auror training program. Tonks had informed him that it was essential that all Aurors knew the art of closing their mind, as majority of them were privy to some or the other confidential information.

Tonks was a good teacher and Harry had picked up the technique pretty quickly. He had practiced every night, and was now proficient at it. To his surprise, Occlumency had helped to curtail the nightmares that he had been plagued with. He found himself to be more in control of his emotions and was very pleased that the nightmares had reduced.

The dreams hadn't stopped though, and most of them were daydreams about a pretty witch with brown hair. At the beginning of the summer if anyone had told him that before returning to school he would have a close friend from Slytherin, then he would have laughed right in their faces.

He found himself wondering whether he wanted more than just a close friendship with Tracey. Over the last month, it had become rather obvious that he spent more time talking with Tracey on the mirror than with either Neville or Lisa. Neville had even teased him about this, but he had managed to change the topic.

Harry finally came to the conclusion that if she agreed, he would take Tracey on a date to Hogsmeade. Based on the date, they could both decide where to take it from there.

One thing was for sure, he couldn't wait for tomorrow!

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The next day dawned bright and clear, and soon Harry was all packed up and ready to leave for Kings Cross.

It wasn't long before he found himself in the cabin on the dinghy along with Sirius, as they made their way towards the shore.

Harry found himself reminiscing about old times, "Even my first trip into the Wizarding World was by boat, Sirius. I still vividly remember Hagrid coming to pick me up. It was the best day of my life."

Sirius grinned, "I can understand, Harry. Also, as long as I am around, I will try my best to ensure that you enjoy many more amazing days in the future."

Harry got up from the couch he was sitting on, and gave Sirius a hug, "Thanks for everything, Sirius."

Sirius was taken aback but rather pleased by Harry's display of gratitude, "Anytime, son."

Harry smiled and then went and sat back on the couch. It wasn't long before Sirius spoke again,

"So Harry, I think it's time that you and I had a little talk."

Harry groaned as he heard Sirius emphasize on the word 'talk'. He knew where this was going.

Sirius now had a wide grin on his face and he was enjoying Harry's embarrassment. He decided to take it up a notch,

"I think a talk about a certain Miss Davis is in order, don't you think?"

Harry groaned again.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Remus met them on shore and they all piled into the car that he had arranged. They had decided that travel by a Muggle mode of transport would be the best idea, as that would be the last way that Voldemort would expect them to arrive.

Once they were seated in the car, Remus had some news for them. He said, "Well, I had gone with Tonks to Hogwarts yesterday, in order to check the security of the castle…"

He was interrupted by Sirius, "And may I ask what you and cousin Tonks did after this particular visit?"

Remus' face became red with embarrassment and he then glared at Sirius. Both Harry and Sirius were having a hard time containing their laughter after looking at Remus' face.

Remus avoided Sirius' question and continued in a more serious tone, "Like I was saying, I visited the castle with Tonks, and we met McGonagall, She wanted me to pass on the message that Hermione took the oath successfully."

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. Harry was confused and asked, "What kind of an oath?"

Sirius responded with a bit of a grimace on his face, "An oath on her magic that she was unaware of Dumbledore's manipulations."

Harry was shocked. He just sat there for a few minutes before saying, "How could you make her take such a drastic step, Sirius? What if she had lost her magic?"

Sirius was aware that the oath did involve a lot of risk. However, he felt that he had done the right thing, "It was the only way, Harry."

There was silence again before Remus spoke, "Look at the positive side, Harry. The oath was successful, and now you know that your best friend has been faithful to you."

Harry agreed that Remus had a fair point. He didn't like the way in which they had acquired the confirmation, but he was certainly happy to have his best friend back.

He wished that the car would speed up, as he couldn't wait to see Hermione. They had so much to talk about!

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It wasn't long before they reached Kings Cross, and Harry loaded his entire luggage on a trolley. Even Sirius did the same on another trolley. Sirius had already informed him that a batch of Aurors and some teachers would be accompanying them on the Express for security reasons.

Harry felt the excitement grow as he pushed his trolley towards the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. He passed through it and found himself standing on Platform 9 and ¾ along with Sirius.

He looked up to see the Hogwarts Express puffing smoke over the platform which was crowded with many excited witches and wizards.

Sirius had spotted the group of teachers and headed off after informing Harry that he needed to meet with them to discuss the security arrangements.

Harry remembered that his Prefect badge was still in his pocket and he took it out and pinned it up to his chest. After doing so, he looked up to find Neville's smiling at him.

The two friends exchanged pleasantries, before they were joined by Lisa who proceeded to hug Harry and exclaim that she was really looking forward to the school year.

Harry's eyes were still scanning the crowd, and Lisa was quick to notice, "Don't worry, Harry. She's here. She just left to meet Greengrass regarding the Prefect duties."

Both Neville and Lisa started laughing at the embarrassment which was evident on Harry's face. Lisa then turned to Neville, "Even Harry and I should be on our way to the Prefect's compartment, Nev. You'll be fine?"

Neville assured that he will find an empty compartment and wait for them. He then asked Harry whether he should invite Ron or Ginny to sit with them, and Harry's answer was in the negative. After promising Neville that they'll be back soon, the two prefects headed off.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Before Harry could enter the Prefect's compartment, he was bowled over by a mass of bushy hair. This was accompanied by a loud scream of, "Harry!"

Harry was used to Hermione's hugs and relaxed once he felt the familiar warmth of his best friend in his arms.

While Hermione still had him engulfed in the hug, he looked inside the compartment and his eyes fell on Tracey. He gave her a large smile, which she returned.

The moment was broken by Lisa's voice, "Would you two stop hugging each other to death, please? We do have stuff to discuss, you know."

Properly chastised, Hermione broke away from the hug with a wide smile on her face. With a quick, "We need to talk!" to Harry, she headed off and sat down on one of the compartment's bunks.

Harry then proceeded to greet Tracey. He was a little surprised when she got up and hugged him. Tracey pulled out of the hug with a huge smile on her face. She had realized that he had smelt her hair, and she was clearly very pleased about it.

Tracey then introduced him to her friend and fellow Slytherin Prefect, Daphne Greengrass. The only way that Harry could describe Daphne was beautiful. She had an aristocratic look about her which perfectly complemented her blonde hair and blue eyes. He remembered seeing her a few time in his classes, but had never paid too much attention to her as she was a Slytherin.

After Tracey was done with her introduction, Daphne proceeded to give him a polite handshake with a suspicious look on her face.

Harry then told Tracey, "Neville's holding on to a compartment for us. I guess I'll see you there."

Tracey nodded with a smile and Harry left to sit next Hermione, feeling rather pleased with himself.

Hermione asked in a low whisper, "What was that all about, Harry? I didn't know that you were friends with Davis."

Harry responded, "I promise to let you know everything once this meeting is done, Hermione."

Hermione accepted Harry's decision and decided to change the topic, "I'm really surprised by the Prefects selection for this year, Harry. According to _Hogwarts: A History _this is the first time that two houses will have only Girl Prefects."

Harry looked around and even he was surprised to find that Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott had both got the Hufflepuff badge.

Harry responded to Hermione's claim, "It just goes on to show that our new Headmistress prefers that the badge is given to deserving candidates, irrespective of gender. I think she's done the right thing."

Hermione couldn't agree more, and she gave him a one armed hug to show her appreciation for what he had just said.

Soon, they had all settled down and the train started moving. They were on their way back to Hogwarts!

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The Prefect meeting didn't last long as the Head Boy and Girl briefed them about their duties and asked them to patrol the train in pairs. They were also informed that there were Aurors on the train and told to stay out of their way.

Last but not the least; they were notified that their castle patrol schedules will be handed to them the next day.

Once the meeting was finished, everyone left to meet with their friends. Tracey approached Harry who was still sitting next to Hermione. She asked, "Hey Harry, will it be fine if I invite my friend Daphne to sit with us?"

Harry wasn't sure about this, as he didn't trust the blonde Slytherin yet. However, he knew that he had no option but to agree and he did so reluctantly, "Sure."

She was happy, "That's great. Let's go and find Neville then."

Harry looked at Hermione who had a puzzled look on her face. He then turned to Tracey and said, "You should go ahead with Daphne and Lisa. I'll take some time as I need to talk about some stuff with Hermione."

Tracey understood that the two friends needed to talk about the summer. She gave Harry a big smile before leaving the compartment.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After Tracey had left the compartment, Harry locked the door and immediately cast one of the privacy spells that Sirius had taught him.

He then went over to Hermione and was surprised when she jumped up and gave him another one of her patented hugs, "I missed you so much, Harry!" she gushed.

Harry responded, "I missed you too, Hermione."

Hermione soon broke the hug, "Ok Harry James Potter, you better start talking now."

Harry grinned at her enthusiasm and began the tale of his incredible summer.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Albus Dumbledore had figured it out. He had finally broken the memory charm, with help from Elphias Doge. He decided that he couldn't risk informing Doge about the memory and thus he headed out of Doge's house.

He had been horrified by what he had remembered. He knew that he had to pass this information to one particular person, but sadly he had no access to that person anymore.

As a plan started forming in his head, he just knew exactly what to do.

When Harry Potter reached Hogsmeade station, he would be waiting.

(A/N: Hmm, I wonder what's on Poor Albus' mind. You'll just have to read on to find out!

As always, please do review. Your suggestions and wishes are always appreciated!

I have even started a new story named 'Moving On'. Currently its been classified as Harry/Daphne but that is subject to change. You will find the link in my profile. Check it out if you feel like it!)


	9. Express Encounters

Chapter 9

**Express Encounters**

Harry Potter was true to his word. Hermione listened as he related the entire tale of his summer.

He began by telling her about the betrayal of the Weasleys and Dumbledore. She was devastated that his life had been manipulated to such a large extent by Dumbledore. She was especially shocked about the plans to dose him with love potions and was thankful that she was no longer staying in the same house as the Weasleys.

Harry then told her about Sirius rescuing him and his subsequent stay on an underwater island. She listened with surprise as he told her about his dueling and Occlumency training, and how he now believed himself to be better equipped for the coming year. She insisted that he teach her Occlumency and he happily agreed to do so.

She then brought up the topic that he had been dreading, "So how did you get friendly with Tracey Davis and Lisa Turpin? I don't really remember you ever talking to them."

He responded, "Well, it all began in the summer when I received a letter from Lisa…"

He proceeded to tell her about the letter that he had received from Lisa and how he had maintained correspondence with her. He told her about how Lisa was Neville's close family friend.

His voice quivered when he told her about Nott's attack on Tracey. She cringed when she heard about what Nott was planning to do and was relieved that Neville and Lisa had managed to rescue her.

Hermione asked, "So, Neville and Lisa took Tracey to Longbottom Manor. How did you manage to correspond with them though? I remember sending you a lot of owls but they all returned unopened."

Harry replied sheepishly, "Well, we communicated through mirrors…"

Hermione was confused and Harry decided to show her how the mirrors worked.

He proceeded to take his mirror out of his robe and called Neville. He was not surprised when Tracey's face appeared. From the past few days his mirror calls were usually answered by Tracey. He assumed that Neville had something to do with it.

She said, "Hey Harry!"

Harry then spotted Daphne glancing curiously into the mirror before asking, "Hey Tracey. I was just showing Hermione how the mirrors worked."

"Oh that's great Harry. When are you both coming to the compartment? We are all waiting for you."

"We're almost done here. We'll be there in a few minutes." He said before ending the call and putting the mirror back into his robe.

Hermione was stunned, "Wow! I never knew that there was a wizarding equivalent of mobile phones."

Harry responded, "It is not well known. There mirrors were developed by the Marauders themselves so that they could communicate easily."

Hermione then went on a rant about how she had to talk to Sirius about how the mirrors worked. Harry couldn't stop smiling at his best friend's enthusiasm. He had missed this.

Harry interrupted her in the middle of her rant, "Hermione, I want you to know that if the circumstances were different then you are the only person that I would have sent the second mirror too. I'm sorry that I didn't believe in you."

Hermione was mildly annoyed that he had interrupted her. However, she was touched when she realized when he was saying.

Harry continued, "You have always been my best friend, Hermione. You have always supported me, even when other people didn't believe in me. I'm sorry that I always gave Ron more importance than you. I'm sorry that I sometimes took you for granted."

Hermione responded, "Harry, you didn't…"

Harry cut her off once again, "Yes, I did Hermione. Ever since Sirius told me about the oath that you had taken, I found myself thinking about how you had never ever let me down. I want you to know that your friendship means the world to me."

Tears were flowing down Hermione's face by now. She engulfed Harry in a hug and refused to let go. She spoke in between sobs, "Y-Your friendship means everything to me too, Harry."

It was a long time before the two friends broke the hug. This conversation had certainly strengthened their friendship.

After a few moments of silence, Hermione told Harry a brief version of her summer. Harry was not surprised that Ron had asked her out, and he was happy that she had turned him down. He was a little surprised about Ginny's relationship with Michael Corner, but realized that he didn't really care.

He again apologized to Hermione for being the one responsible for her having to spend nearly two months in such a drag place. However, she waved off his apology and insisted that it wasn't his fault.

Harry couldn't help but laugh when Hermione told her that the Weasley's had evacuated the Headquarters due to Mother Weasley's outburst. Hermione hadn't known the reason for the evacuation earlier, but now she knew and joined him in the laughter.

He was pleased that McGonagall had taken her in for the last few days of the holidays. He knew how much Hermione adored and respected the Headmistress.

As the two friends left the Prefects compartment, they had both successfully overcome an awkward moment in their friendship. They were now certain that their friendship could endure any test. They both knew that they would be best friends for life.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After Tracey's mirror call with Harry had ended, Daphne had insisted that they leave the compartment and patrol. Tracey had been expecting this and agreed to do so.

She told Neville and Lisa that they'll be back soon, and stepped out of the compartment with Daphne.

As soon as they had stepped out and started patrolling, Daphne said, "Ok Tracey, spill."

Tracey decided to play innocent, "What do you want to know, Daph?"

Daphne was infuriated by her delaying tactic, "You very well know what I mean, Trace. The way you're interacting with Longbottom, Turpin and Potter gives me the impression that you've known them for a lifetime. What's going on?"

Tracey knew that she had to give Daphne some sort of an explanation. She began with Nott's attack at Diagon Alley. She was nearly in tears by the time she finished and Daphne was furious,

"I'm going to find that bastard now and when I do, I'll hex his balls off!"

Tracey managed to restrain Daphne from taking a drastic step. She then continued and spoke of her stay at Longbottom manor before completing the tale by telling her about her mirror conversations with Harry.

"Are you sure that you can trust these people, Trace?" Daphne inquired.

Tracey responded instantly, "I can trust them with my life, Daph. They saved me from a fate worse than death. Also, I spent the last month with them and they haven't been anything but kind and nice."

Daphne wasn't finished, "I don't know, Trace. I always thought that there was something off about Potter. And he's a Gryffindor… "

Tracey interrupted her, "What's wrong with you, Daph? I never thought that you would judge people based on their houses."

Daphne replied, "Oh no, you got me wrong. I was saying that Potter is a Gryffindor, and when word spreads about your friendship then our house members are going to be rather pissed."

Tracey thought about it for a minute. She knew that Daphne was right, but she was not going to give up the new friends that she had made

She made this clear to Daphne, "I don't care about what our house members think, Daph. They have never really cared two hoots about me, so why should I care about their opinion? And I know that in case something happens then you'll always have my back. I'll be fine."

Daphne was taken aback by the confidence displayed by her best friend. Tracey had usually been a very shy girl, but it seemed that the summer had changed her.

"I'll always have you back, Trace. You know that. However, I'm still not sure about Potter. You will have to give me time." Daphne stated.

Tracey responded, "I won't force you to be friendly with Harry. However, for my sake I hope that you will try. He is really a very sweet and kind hearted boy."

Daphne was surprised by the passion with which Tracey defended Harry. She couldn't help asking, "Do you fancy Potter?"

Tracey didn't want to lie to her best friend. Her whispered response was frank and to the point, "Yes, I do."

Daphne was stunned, "Oh Merlin! Do you know how much trouble that could cause, Trace?"

"It doesn't matter. It's not as if he's going to ask me out." Tracey responded.

Daphne questioned, "What if he does?"

A dreamy smile came over Tracey's face as she replied, "Then I'll happily say yes."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

When Tracey re-entered the compartment along with Daphne, she was pleased to see that Harry was already inside.

Neville was the one who greeted them, "Hey, great that you two are back. Take a seat."

Tracey sat on Harry's right and Daphne took the seat facing her, sitting next to Lisa.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Harry spoke, "So, we were discussing who is likely to be the new Transfiguration Professor. I think Hermione here knows, but she is refusing to tell us."

Hermione huffed, "Just because I stayed with the Headmistress doesn't mean that she told me about her administrative affairs, Harry. I really…"

Neville interrupted her, "Drop the pretense, Hermione. Tell us!"

Before Hermione could reply, Tracey spoke, "Professor McGonagall was the best teacher at Hogwarts. I'm really going to miss her classes."

There was a chorus of approval inside the compartment.

As the train ride continued, they discussed various topics and in general were having a good time. Tracey did notice that Daphne was subdued. She knew that it was hard for her to adjust with new people. She just hoped that she would be able to do so sooner rather than later.

Her musings were interrupted by the compartment door sliding open. She looked up and saw Ronald Weasley standing at the door, flanked by his sister Ginny on one side and Michael Corner on the other.

He surveyed the apartment and his eyes rested on Daphne and Tracey. His face became almost as red as his hair as he then looked at Harry and sneered, "So you're hanging out with the slimy Slytherins now, Potter?"

Tracey was sitting closest to the compartment door and she could have sworn that she heard Ginny whisper, "We are supposed to give him the cold shoulder, Ron!"

Ron's response to Ginny's whispered warning was unusually loud, "But he's sitting with the snakes!"

Harry had had enough, "What I do is none of your business, Weasley. Leave now or else you'll regret it."

Ron scoffed, "What are you going to do, Potter? Set your pet snakes on me?"

Harry was beyond angry now, "Enough is enough, Ron! Apologize, now!"

"I hardly think so, Potter. In case you forgot, Dumbledore doesn't pay us to mollycoddle you anymore."

Harry gave him a look of utter derision before shouting, "_Furnunculus"_

A large number of boils started appearing on Ron's face, before a "_Flipendo_" by Neville sent him crashing back into his sister, thus knocking them both out in the process

Michael Corner tried a sneak attack on Harry, but to everyone's surprise, Daphne got him with a well placed body bind curse. He fell on his back outside the compartment.

Everyone in the compartment started laughing as Tracey got up and shut the door.

After a little while, there was another knock on the compartment door and Sirius Black's head popped in.

He pointed to the three bodies lying outside and asked, "You guys did this?"

Hermione was the one who answered, "Yes Sirius, but it wasn't our fault…"

Sirius interrupted her, "Don't worry, Hermione. I'm only disappointed as I'm not yet authorized to award House Points!"

Everyone started laughing again and Sirius winked at Harry before leaving the compartment.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The rest of the train ride would have gone smoothly, but Draco Malfoy decided to make an appearance with his cronies.

As he looked around the compartment, he spotted both Daphne and Tracey. He shouted, "What the hell are you two doing in Potter's compartment?"

Tracey responded calmly, "It's a free train, Malfoy. Anyone can sit where they want to."

Draco screamed, "But you're Slytherins. I order you to leave now!"

Before Tracey could retort, Lisa spoke up, "Are you sure they should leave, Malfoy?"

Malfoy hadn't noticed Lisa before. He opened his mouth to rebuke her, but then a memory from last year came into his mind.

Lisa continued, "They know what I did to you last year. I've even taught them how to do so."

All the blood drained out of Malfoy's face, and his face became deathly pale.

"So, what are you going to do now, Malfoy?" Lisa asked.

"I-I'm going to leave…" Malfoy stuttered before rushing off with his cronies tagging behind.

Everyone was staring at Lisa with their faces reflecting varying degrees of shock.

Harry was the first one to react, "How did you do that? He looked as if he was going to shit his pants."

Lisa responded, "Well, he tried to get fresh with me last year. I used a spell on him and since then he's never been able to look me in the eye."

Daphne immediately questioned, "What spell? You have got to tell us!"

After Lisa explained the spell that she had used, there was an explosion of laughter in the compartment. The only two who weren't laughing were Harry and Neville, who were staring at Lisa with horrified looks on their faces.

Lisa saw their stares and said, "Oh come off it, you two. I'm not going to use it on you!"

Harry responded, "Remind me to never ever piss you off."

Lisa started giggling and this led to a fit of giggles among all the girls in the compartment.

Harry just shook his head and then proceeded to stare outside the window.

He could now see the sparkling lights of Hogsmeade village. They were about to arrive.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

As Harry stepped out on the Hogsmeade platform, the first thing he noticed was the group of Aurors guarding various points and helping children on their way. He soon spotted Hagrid who was helping the first years along. He saw Harry and then waved, "Hello there, 'Arry."

Harry waved back in response, "Hey Hagrid!"

Hagrid wasn't able to say anything more as a big group of first years were ready to be escorted to the boats, and he had to leave with them.

As Hermione saw Hagrid leave, she whispered to Harry, "I forgot to tell you something. Apparently, Hagrid had been sent as an envoy to the giants by Dumbledore. When McGonagall found out about it, she was furious. She wrote him an ultimatum to either return immediately or risk losing his job. Thankfully, he chose to come back."

Harry was surprised on hearing this information. He made a mental note to ask the half giant about it when they met next. He then asked Hermione, "How did you find out?"

Hermione replied, "McGonagall told me when I was staying at her house."

Harry grinned, "But I thought she didn't tell you about administrative matters…"

Hermione knew that she had been caught out, "She only told me about this one thing. Shut up, Harry!"

Harry started laughing when he saw the glare on Hermione's face. He had stopped laughing by the time Tracey and Daphne joined them.

Lisa had met a couple of her friends from Ravenclaw and Neville was waiting for her. As only four people could fit in one carriage, they decided that there was no point in waiting for them.

As they walked ahead, Harry spotted winged horses in front of the carriages. He was a little confused as he had been on the carriages before, but had never spotted those horses.

When he asked the others, Daphne was the only one who could see them. She said, "They are Thestrals, Potter. Only those who have witnessed death can see them."

With a little hesitation, Hermione asked, "I can understand Harry being able to see them. How can you see them, Daphne?"

Daphne was lost in her thoughts and didn't respond. Tracey was the one who did, "She lost her brother at a very young age due to a fatal disease."

Hermione was saddened to hear about this, "Oh, that's... I'm really sorry to hear that."

By now they had reached the carriages. Just as they were about to climb in, there were three blasts of red light that blinded Harry. He whipped out his wand and got into his dueling stance. He expected the Aurors to come running, but as there was no one in sight he assumed that the security detail didn't cover the path between the station and the carriages.

He saw that all the three girls with him had been stunned. He was about to enervate them when he saw a figure shimmer out of nothing. It wasn't long before he realized that his former Headmaster was now standing before him.

Dumbledore was the one to speak first, "Harry, I must apologize for what I did to your friends. We really need to talk."

Harry snarled back, "I have no intention to talk to you, Dumbledore. Stay away from me!"

Dumbledore had expected the venom in his voice. He tried again, "Harry my boy, please try and understand…"

Harry interrupted him, "No, I do not want to understand, you old fool!"

Dumbledore insisted, "Harry, there's a greater power at play here and it is all due to a mistake that I made. You need to know…"

Suddenly Albus' eyes glazed over and he stopped speaking. Harry was still in his duel stance and he didn't pay much attention to the glazed look in Dumbledore's eyes.

Albus just blurted, "Have a good year at school, Harry," and then he apparated out of there.

Harry looked on in confusion as he saw his former Headmaster disappear before his own eyes. He just stood there in complete shock until he realized that he had still not revived the three girls lying on the floor.

Three quick revival spells later, they were all dusting their robes and standing up.

Daphne was the first one to speak, "What the hell was that, Potter?"

Harry then told them about Dumbledore's attack and the mysterious talk that they had.

By this time, both Neville and Lisa had also joined them and Harry repeated to them what he had told the other three girls.

All six were flummoxed by Dumbledore's behavior.

Harry said, "I'll inform Sirius about the incident. I think he might be able to make better sense of it."

Everyone agreed with him.

Neville then suggested "We better head off to the castle. Don't want to be late."

They climbed into two carriages and were soon on their way for another year at Hogwarts.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The Entrance Hall was ablaze with torches and echoing with footsteps as the students crossed the flagged stone floor for the double doors to the right, leading to the Great Hall and the start of term feast.

The four long house tables in the Great Hall were filling up under the starless black ceiling, which was just like the sky they could glimpse through the high windows. Candles floated in midair all along the tables, illuminating the silvery ghosts who were dotted about the Hall and the faces of the students talking eagerly, exchanging summer news, shouting greetings at friends from other houses, eyeing one another's new haircuts and robes.

Tracey and Daphne left them and went to sit at the Slytherin table, and Lisa did the same as she left and sat at the Ravenclaw one. Harry, Hermione and Neville found seats together and sat down with Harry in the middle.

When he looked at the other end of the table, Harry saw Ron and Ginny glaring at him, but he didn't give them a second thought.

Hagrid appeared with the first years and soon the Sorting began. Harry looked on with passive interest as the different students were sorted into the four houses.

Once the Sorting was done, Professor McGonagall stood up and cleared her throat before speaking,

"Welcome everyone to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Minerva McGonagall, and I will be your new Headmistress."

There was a bit of polite applause before McGonagall continued, "First-years are informed that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has also asked me to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door."

"There are also a couple of changes in our staff this year. As Professor Moody had commitments with the Ministry, he was unable to continue. Replacing him as our new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher will be Professor Sirius Black. He will also be the new Head of Gryffindor House."

There was another round of applause, and obviously the loudest cheers came from a particular section of the Gryffindor table. Sirius, always the showman, took a dramatic bow which led to a few students laughing heartily.

Professor McGonagall waited for the applause to die down before she continued, "As I will be unable to carry on as the Transfiguration teacher, my position will be taken over by Professor Leslie Bones."

Harry watched as a pretty woman with red hair rose up and acknowledged the Headmistress.

"That's Susan's mother." Hermione whispered. Harry turned and saw that the Hufflepuff table was cheering loudly and there was a big smile on Susan's face.

McGonagall spoke again, "I wish that you all have a happy and safe school year. If you face any problems, then please do not hesitate to contact your House Heads. Thank You."

With that, she sat down and the five long tables were soon groaning under joints and pies with dishes of vegetables, bread and sauces and flagons of pumpkin juice.

Harry filled his plate and then asked Hermione, "So Hermione, are you ready for another adventure filled year?"

Hermione grinned and shot back, "Always, Harry. Always,"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It was late in the night as the couple walked towards the dilapidated building.

"I must say that was a pretty impressive piece of nonverbal magic, love. I didn't know you could cast the Imperius that way." the woman stated.

The man responded, "You have no idea about the things that I can do, love."

"Oh, I can think of a couple of things." she said with a saucy wink.

The man groaned, "Let's finish this job off, you little minx. Then I am going to devour you."

"Let's do it quick then, love."

The two of them entered the building and looked around. Soon, they spotted an old man sitting on a nearly broken chair, an old man named Albus Dumbledore.

The woman questioned, "Why did you instruct him to apparate to the Shrieking Shack of all places?"

"Because it was… convenient." The man responded.

"I'm still surprised that he hasn't been able to fight off your Imperius yet." She said.

The man stated, "Don't be surprised. I hadn't expected him to."

With a wave of his wand, the man removed the Imperius charm. Albus Dumbledore came to his senses, and it didn't take him long to recognize his surroundings.

He then looked up and saw his attackers face. He screamed, "You aren't going to get away with this…"

With a lazy flick of the man's wand, Dumbledore had been put in a body bind. The man spoke, "He talks a lot, doesn't he?"

The woman responded, "Yes, he has become more of a hindrance than help."

"I still want to torture him for all the suffering that he put me through." The man stated.

"You have to let go of past grudges, love. It's time he moves on to the next great adventure." She snickered.

A maniacal grin appeared on the man's face, "Indeed. It will be for the Greater Good."

He pointed his wand at Dumbledore and gave it another lazy flick,

"_Avada Kedavra_"

(A/N: How many of you saw that coming? Seriously, be honest!

I think the story is picking up pace now. I am certainly enjoying writing it.

A couple of things I would like to point: First, canon does not state that Susan is an orphan. So it must not come as a surprise that she has a mother. Second, I personally found the Hagrid searching for Giants angle very boring and thus I decided to exclude it by making him return from his mission.

Do review. I would love to hear your thoughts!

Also, in case you are interested in some light reading, then do have a look at the one-shot recently published by me titled 'Dobby's Warning')


	10. Term Begins

Chapter 10

**Term Begins**

The next day when Harry and Neville got up and left their dormitory, Ron was still sleeping. When they entered the common room, they were greeted by the sight of an angry Hermione berating the Weasley twins.

"You are not allowed to use students as testing subjects for your products!" she was shouting while the Weasley twins wore identical grins on their faces.

As Harry looked for a way out of the common room without being spotted by Hermione, the Weasley twins responded,

"But Hermione…"

"…we only advertised for part-time jobs…"

"…you haven't really…"

"…caught us doing anything wrong…"

Hermione looked at the two as if they had grown two extra heads, "It doesn't matter whether I caught you or not! I know the both of you and your intentions were very clear in the notice you put up."

She pointed at the notice which read:

_GALLONS OF GALLEONS! _

_You don't have enough pocket money? Would you like to earn a little extra gold? Contact Fred and George Weasley, Gryffindor common room, for simple, part-time, virtually painless jobs. (We regret that all work is undertaken at applicant's own risk.)_

To Harry's horror while she was pointing out the notice, Hermione had spotted him,

"Harry! You come here and tell these two!" She ordered.

Neville gave him a commiserating look as Harry walked towards Hermione and the twins.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" He asked in an unnaturally sweet voice, very well aware of what was wrong.

"These two," She said pointing to Fred and George, "are putting up notices all over the castle asking students to become test subjects for money!"

Harry nodded and then made show of reading the notice which he had already gone through. He remarked, "But Hermione, the notice doesn't say anything about test subjects. They are only offering students part-time jobs and there is no rule at Hogwarts against that."

Harry was clueless whether there was actually a rule against advertising or not. He just thought that it was improbable that such a rule would exist.

Hermione responded, "Yes, there is no rule against that. But we both know what these two are up to Harry!"

Harry then looked at the twins and had the sudden urge to laugh on seeing the grins on their faces. However, he managed to compose himself and ask, "What do you have two have to say for yourselves?"

"You wound us Harry…"

"…we thought you would…"

"…have more faith in us…"

"…anyways, you don't have proof…"

"…that we are doing anything wrong …"

"…so if you'd excuse us…"

With that the Weasley twins walked away, leaving an irate Hermione and amused Harry behind.

"Let them be, Hermione. You know how they usually are." Harry said in an effort to cool Hermione down.

Hermione was still fuming, "I will catch them. And when I do catch them…"

Harry interrupted her, "Yes, I am sure you will make them suffer. Come on now, let's go for breakfast!"

Before Hermione could argue, Harry took her hand, motioned for Neville to follow and headed off towards the Great Hall.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Both Tracey and Daphne were the only ones in their Slytherin dorm and they were in the middle of an intense discussion.

"It's not safe, Trace! Why don't you understand?" Daphne asked in an attempt to convince her friend.

Tracey responded, "I am not going to ditch a friend just because it's not safe to be around him, Daph."

"But you saw what happened yesterday. We were stunned from behind for no explicit reason. What if someone had used a more deadly spell?" Daphne questioned with a tone of uncertainty.

Tracey was in no mood to give up, "There are always a lot of 'what ifs' and 'buts' Daphne. Both Lisa and Neville rescued me and Harry was a good friend to me when I was suffering after Nott's attempted attack. I will be forever indebted to them and cannot even contemplate ditching their friendship."

Daphne knew that her friend was obstinate once she had made her mind up, "Fine. Have it your way then. But do remember that the risks…"

Tracey interrupted her, "For me the benefits far outweigh the risks, Daph. There is no point to this discussion anymore. I'm not forcing you to hang out with them, but please don't expect that I won't."

Daphne was a little hurt by Tracey's statement, but chose to look past it. She said, "Our friendship matters a lot to me, Trace. Whether you force me or not, I will always be around. You would do well to remember that!"

Tracey was happy that her friend had finally come around. She proceeded to give her a hug, "I never doubted that, Daph. We'll always be friends."

As Tracey broke the hug, Daphne smirked and asked, "So, when is Potter asking you out then?"

"He is not asking me out!" Tracey replied with mock indignation.

"Oh yes he is!"

"No, he isn't!"

The two friends carried out their friendly banter for a little while before they left the dormitory. Both of them were happy to have sorted out their argument.

However, what neither one knew was that a certain Slytherin had overheard their entire conversation.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The first thing that Harry saw on entering the Great Hall was Tracey entering from the Slytherin side. He gave her a short wave which was returned with a shy smile before both of them sat at their respective tables.

Neville had noticed this little interaction and whispered in Harry's ear, "If I were in your place, I'd have asked her out on the train itself."

Harry was still getting accustomed to this more confident side of Neville, but he was happy that the once shy Gryffindor had now opened up. He grimaced, "Don't start again, Neville. Please!"

Neville just grinned in response and said, "You are spared for right now Harry, as I need to go and talk to Lisa. I'll see you later."

Harry saw Neville leave and join Lisa at the Ravenclaw table. He waved to the Ravenclaw and then sat down for breakfast.

After he had loaded his plate, Hermione spoke, "Our time-tables and patrol schedules should be out today. I wonder when we'll have our first class with Sirius. It will be great to have a proper professor for Defense especially considering that this is our OWL year."

On hearing Sirius' name, Harry looked up at the Head Table and saw Sirius deep in conversation with the new Transfiguration professor, Leslie Bones.

Harry then turned towards Hermione and said, "Yes, even I hope that Sirius' class is soon. I'm sure he will do great!"

He then added, "I also needed to ask for your help, Hermione. After I decided to return to Hogwarts, I had a talk with Sirius about my electives. He suggested that I drop Divination and take up Ancient Runes."

Hermione gave him a skeptical look and exclaimed, "But you are two years behind in the subject, Harry! I love it that you are thinking of dropping Divination, but Ancient Runes will not be easy. I doubt you will even be allowed to change so late."

Harry shrugged, "Well, I had a lot of free time on my hands in the summer. So, after the talk with Sirius I went through the Ancient Runes texts of the last two years. I found the subject fascinating and asked Sirius to talk to the Headmistress. As you already know she doesn't really like Trelawney much, so she said she will look into it. She told Sirius…"

He was interrupted by the sound of a large number of owls soaring into the Great Hall. To his surprise, a regal Hogwarts old stopped in front of him with a note.

He took the note and fed the owl some bacon before it flew away. He then proceeded to open the note and a wide smile came onto his face after reading it.

Hermione spotted his smile and asked, "Who is it from?"

"It's from McGonagall. She says that I'll have an Ancient Runes test based on the previous two year's material. If I pass, then I can change my elective!"

Hermione took the note from him and read. After reading she cried out, "But Harry, the test is tomorrow evening! How are you going to prepare so soon? How can you be happy about this? We should go and ask her for more time."

Harry couldn't help but grin at his friend's worried state. He assured her, "Don't worry, Hermione. I have gone through the texts and I'm pretty confident. Also, if you agree then we can head to the library after classes and you can help me with some of the more difficult concepts."

"Of course I will help you, Harry. Thankfully I still have my Runes notes of the last two years, so we can use them." Hermione responded with a smile.

Harry smiled back and said, "Thanks Hermione. I think Tracey might also join us. She said that she wanted to help. "

Harry noticed Hermione's smile falter as she said, "Oh… that's great."

Hermione was about to carry on with her breakfast when Harry took hold of her hand and asked, "You don't have a problem with Tracey being there, do you?"

"No. It's just that…" She broke off, unable to complete the statement.

Harry insisted, "You can tell me anything, Hermione. You know that."

Hermione gathered up her courage and said, "Well, I am kind of used to you coming to me when the matter concerns academics. When you mentioned that Tracey would be joining us, I just felt a little twinge of jealousy. I know it's silly of me…"

Harry interrupted her, "Yes it is silly of you, Hermione. As I had told you on the train yesterday, nobody can take your place in my life. If you want me to, then I can tell Tracey that I don't need her help."

"No. Please don't do that, Harry. I have noticed that she is very good at Runes. It will be great to have her there." She said quickly.

"Are you sure?" He asked skeptically.

She gave him a one armed hug and said, "Very sure."

Harry smiled at her and then continued with his breakfast.

After a while, Hermione said, "You know, it's really great to see you taking a keen interest in your studies, Harry. I always knew that you were smart, and now without distractions like Ron around you can do so much better."

At the mention of Ron, Harry looked around the table for any sign of the redhead. Harry was the one who used to wake him on time every day, but hadn't done so today. As a result, Ron had not yet made it for breakfast.

Harry couldn't help but grin when he thought about what Ron's reaction would be to missing a chance to eat food.

He then turned to Hermione who was still waiting for a response, "Don't worry, Hermione. I do intend to be more sincere this year."

Hermione gave him a glowing smile and said, "I'm so happy to hear that, Harry!"

Harry smiled back at her and was about to carry on with his breakfast when he spotted Sirius handing out schedules.

Sirius came up to them and smiled. He then handed them both a parchment each and said, "That's your class schedule. You two are also required to meet me in my office today after classes so that I can brief you on your Prefect responsibilities."

Harry couldn't stop himself from grinning at Sirius' official tone. He responded, "Sure thing, Professor Black."

Sirius clearly heard him emphasize 'Professor'. He gave Harry a small wink before moving on to hand out the schedules to the others.

Hermione who had already started going through her schedule said, "Well, the good news is that we don't have Runes for the next two days, Harry. So you won't miss the introductory lecture of the year. The bad news though is that we have Double Potions today."

Harry groaned and thought about drowning his head in the flask of pumpkin juice. Things had been going so well recently, and he had completely forgotten about Snape. He saw the greasy haired professor handing out schedules to the Slytherins, and then cursed under his breath.

As both Harry and Hermione were going through their schedules, they were approached by the Head Girl who handed them the prefect patrol schedules. Once she had gone away, Harry read his schedule:

Monday – 8PM to 10PM – Harry Potter / Hermione Granger

Tuesday – 8PM to 10PM – Harry Potter / Anthony Goldstein

Wednesday – 8PM to 10PM – Harry Potter / Lisa Turpin

Thursday – 8PM to 10PM – Harry Potter / Tracey Davis

Friday– 8PM to 10PM – Harry Potter / Daphne Greengrass

Saturday – 8PM to 10PM – Harry Potter / Susan Bones

Sunday – 8PM to 10PM – Harry Potter / Hannah Abbott

He then looked at Hermione and noticed a similar pattern. He said, "I didn't know that we had to patrol with the prefects of other houses."

Hermione gave him a surprised look and said, "Obviously we have to, Harry. I was so happy when I heard that Malfoy hadn't been made Prefect. Patrolling with him would have been an absolute nightmare!"

Harry agreed with her, "Yeah, that's true. So, there will be four sets of prefects patrolling each night right?"

Hermione responded, "Yes. As the castle is so large, that makes a lot of sense."

Harry nodded and then looked at his schedule again. He found that he was really looking forward to his shift on Thursday.

After finishing breakfast, both Harry and Hermione were on their way to their History of Magic lesson when they were intercepted by Angelina Johnson.

"Hi," she said briskly, "good summer?" And without waiting for an answer, "Listen, I've been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain."

"Congratulations!" said Harry and Hermione, both genuinely happy for the tall black girl.

"Yeah, Thanks. We need a new Keeper now that Oliver's left. Tryouts are on Friday at five o'clock. I expect to see you there, Harry. We'll need to take the decision as a team."

"Okay," said Harry. Angelina smiled at him and left.

Harry then turned to Hermione and said, "Neville's gonna tryout, you know. He told me that he has been practicing over the summer."

"That's great! I didn't know he was good at Quidditch. Remember when he fell off his broom in the first year?" Hermione responded.

"Yeah, well, that was a long time back and he was nervous I think. Anyways, he's really grown in confidence this year. I hope he is good and is able to make the team!" Harry stated in the defense of his friend.

Hermione agreed, "I hope so too."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After another horribly boring History of Magic lesson, both Harry and Hermione were heading towards Potions and were soon joined by Neville.

"Hey guys," He said. "You ready for another lesson with the greasy haired bat?"

"Neville," Hermione admonished him. "You can't talk about a Professor like that!"

Harry was grinning at Hermione's expected response. He said, "It's a shame he's still a Professor though. I was hoping that McGonagall would sack him."

"She was thinking about it. However, she didn't have any solid grounds on which could remove him. Moreover, she couldn't find in a replacement in time." Hermione stated.

Harry and Neville both stared at her in surprise. Harry asked, "And how do you know that?"

Hermione's face went a little red as she responded, "She told me when I was staying at her place."

Harry smirked on hearing her response, "And yet you insist that McGonagall didn't tell you about administrative matters?"

"Ok, enough! Yes, she told me about some things and I wasn't supposed to tell you." Hermione snapped.

Neville joined in the act, "Hermione Granger not following a teacher's direct order! I can honestly swear that I never thought I'll see this day."

Harry started laughing at Hermione's indignant face. He put an arm around her shoulders and said, "We're just joking, Hermione. Don't get angry please."

Hermione's expression immediately softened. "Don't worry, I'm not angry now," She said. "However, if we don't rush then we won't make it to class on time. Then I'll surely be angry!"

With that, she broke into a run with the other two closely behind.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

They reached the Potion's classroom just on time and completely out of breath. They took their seats, and Harry was pleased to see that Tracey was seated on the desk adjacent to theirs. It wasn't long before Snape made his usual dramatic entrance.

Snape went to the front of the classroom and proceeded to make a threatening speech which informed them that he would only accept students those students in his sixth year class who managed an 'Outstanding' on their OWLs.

Once he was done, he ordered them to start working on the 'Draught of Peace' potion. Harry found the potion to be a rather complex one and noticed that even Hermione wasn't looking too confident about it.

By the end of half an hour, Harry found himself sweating profusely as he added and mixed the ingredients. As he was about to move to the next step of the potion, he heard Tracey whisper, "Harry!"

He looked up and gave her a questioning look. She moved to the edge of her desk and spoke in a low tone, "You forgot the syrup of hellebore."

Harry immediately checked the chalkboard and found that Tracey was right. He gave her and grateful smile and mouthed, "Thanks!"

She returned his smile and went back to work on her potion.

By the end of the class he had managed to prepare a near perfect potion which even Snape couldn't criticize. He thanked his lucky stars that Tracey had interrupted when she did; otherwise the consequences could have been rather severe.

He packed up his bag and rushed out of class with the intention of talking to Tracey before she left for her next lesson. He found her outside the classroom talking to Daphne. When she saw him, she excused herself and walked towards where he was standing.

He said, "Tracey, you were a lifesaver in there!"

"Don't mention it, Harry." Tracey responded with a smile.

"No seriously, the look on Snape's face when he couldn't find a single problem was absolutely priceless!" Harry exclaimed.

"Am just glad I could help Harry."

"So, I got an owl from the Headmistress in the morning. My Runes test is tomorrow evening." Harry said.

Tracey was happy on hearing this, "Oh nice! I am so happy that McGonagall agreed. So are you prepared? How can I help?"

"Well, I was planning on going to the library after classes in order to get a better hold on the more difficult concepts." Harry said, very pleased on seeing her enthusiasm.

"Great. I'll meet you there." She said, just as he had expected.

They noticed Hermione, Neville and Daphne walking towards them and the five of them headed off for lunch.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The afternoon session went normally, and soon both Harry and Hermione found themselves knocking on the door of Sirius' office.

"Come in." Sirius' voice came from behind the door.

As Harry walked in, he recollected how the office used to look under its previous occupants. In the days when Gilderoy Lockhart had lived here it had been plastered in beaming portraits of himself. When Lupin had occupied it, it was likely you would meet some fascinating Dark creature. In the impostor Moody's days it had been packed with various instruments for the detection of wrong doing.

For the first time, the office looked normal. This surprised Harry as 'normal' was not something you associated with Sirius Black.

Sirius greeted them, "Hey Harry and Hermione, come in. Have a seat."

Harry said, "The office looks good, Professor Black."

"Thanks Harry. And inside this office, I'm Sirius. Professor Black makes me feel so old!" Sirius responded with a grin.

Harry couldn't keep himself from laughing. Now this was typically Sirius. He said, "Ok fine, Sirius."

Hermione spoke next, "Sirius, before you begin briefing us on our Prefect duties, I think there is something that Harry needs to tell you."

She gave Harry a pointed look and Harry then proceeded to tell Sirius about his weird encounter with Dumbledore.

On hearing all of it, Sirius was perplexed. He said, "I'll contact Tonks and have her look into it. Maybe the aurors will be able to find something."

Both Harry and Hermione agreed that this was probably the best course of action.

After a while, Sirius said, "So Hermione, I assume you are already aware of all your responsibilities as a Prefect and will be able to brief Harry about the same?"

Hermione smiled sheepishly, "Yes, I'll do that." She said.

Sirius grinned, "Great. So off you two go then. I think Harry has an exam to prepare for." He winked at him.

"Thanks Sirius. We'll drop in sometime later." Harry said in a grateful tone.

Both of them then got up and left the office for the library.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Harry had just started going through Hermione's notes in the library, when Tracey arrived with Daphne in tow.

After the initial greetings both of them sat down and Daphne asked, "So, why the sudden interest in Runes, Potter?"

Harry replied, "Well, I was getting tired of having my death predicted every week in Divination. I thought that I'd rather study something that might help me in the future."

Daphne nodded and said, "Good decision, Potter. It looks as if the male Weasley's absence is really paying off on you."

Harry smiled and said, "Indeed it is."

Tracey, who had been listening to the conversation, remembered something, "Speaking of Weasley, I saw him in afternoon having a shouting match with Finnegan. Something about missing breakfast…"

Harry started laughing heartily and even Hermione was smiling from ear to ear. It took a warning from Madam Pince to get Harry to stop laughing.

After they had settled down, Harry said, "So, I'm having a little difficulty understanding Logograms."

Hermione was the one to explain them to him and for the next two hours the three girls took turns in explaining the roots of all the concepts to Harry.

After the girls help, Harry felt much more confident about his test.

He thanked the two Slytherins for their help, before they parted ways for their respective patrolling sessions.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Both Harry and Hermione were patrolling through the corridors, when Harry asked her, "So Hermione, what do you think about Tracey?"

She responded, "Well, I don't really know her that well, but from what I have seen, she seems like a really nice girl. Why do you ask?" She gave him an inquisitive look.

"Well… I was thinking of asking her out." Harry responded with a smile.

Hermione spluttered, "You… what… you?"

Harry grinned at his best friend's obvious discomfort. He stated, "A bit surprised, aren't you?"

By now, Hermione had managed to retain her composure, "Well, obviously I am surprised Harry. I had no idea that you two were so close!"

"We did talk a lot over the summer. She's pretty, funny and I really like spending time with her." He responded.

"If you're sure Harry, then I support your decision. And like I said earlier, Tracey is a really nice girl." Hermione acquiesced.

Harry smiled at her acceptance and they both continued with the patrol.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Later that night, a couple found themselves reveling in post coital bliss. As they lay on the bed, the woman said, "This is really funny, you know. The wizarding public is still not aware that the supposed Leader of the Light is dead."

The man smiled and responded, "Well, I did transfigure his body into a bone. It will be a while before they find out."

"I still can't believe you did that!" The woman exclaimed.

"It was funny!" The man declared.

After a while, the woman asked, "So, what's in store for the Death Eaters? You said you were thinking about a way to deal with them without being found out…"

The man responded, "Yes, I do have a plan. But it will have to wait till Christmas."

"Why do you want to wait till Christmas, love?" The woman questioned.

The man replied in a harsh tone, "The Death Eater kids are still at Hogwarts and won't be home until Christmas. I plan to take out their entire families. Nobody will be spared."

(A/N: Another chapter done!

Who listened to Daphne and Tracey's conversation? Will Neville make the Gryffindor Quidditch team? When will Harry ask out Tracey? And most importantly, who are the mystery couple?

Answers to all these questions and more in the coming chapters!

Please do review. I look forward to hearing from you!)


	11. It All Ends

**It All Ends**

First of all, I want to apologize to everyone who was following this story for not updating in a while. Life's been keeping me busy and thus I haven't been finding the time to update the stories which I had started which great enthusiasm here on .

I won't be able to complete this story or my other WIP 'Moving On'.

'Moving On' is up for adoption and anyone interested in taking it up can just drop me a line in my inbox.

As for this story, I had planned so long and hard for it, and time constraints have lead to such a cruel ending. However, as there is a lot of suspense in the story as of now, I don't want to leave the readers hanging. Thus, what will follow is a shortened account of what was to come. If you feel like reading it, please do.

Just to make it clear, this is a very very rough draft. So don't blame me if you don't like it.

Here goes nothing:

Harry and Tracey kiss in their first patrol session. They end up in a broom cupboard in one of the subsequent sessions and are caught in the act by Daphne and Hermione, who are both patrolling the corridors at the same time. Both girls are excited for the pair and Harry also asks Tracey out for Hogsmeade.

Who was the girl who overheard Daphne and Tracey's conversation? That would be Astoria. She later confronts Daphne and it's revealed that Daphne has a long standing crush on Harry. However, Daphne convinces Astoria that she is happy for Tracey.

Neville makes the quidditch team as Keeper, thus beating Ron in the process. Ron is naturally pissed but can't do anything about it. The Weasley's are generally ignored in this story.

Life goes on at Hogwarts, and Albus Dumbledore is declared as missing. The Ministry sends out search parties but to no avail. Harry is flummoxed at the sudden disappearance of his former Headmaster but he decides to leave it in the hands of the Ministry, after being advised by Sirius.

Meanwhile, the mystery couple are always in the background and they have managed to procure the Horcruxes memory from Slughorn. They're destroying Horcruxes as Harry continues his school year. They manage to destroy all of them except the one in Harry's head and Nagini before Christmas.

Just before Christmas, Theodore Nott attacks Tracey in an abandoned corridor. However, Neville and Lisa are walking nearby and they hear Tracey's shrieks. They save her easily and then Neville follows Nott as he runs off to the Forest, and is soon followed by Lisa. After a while, Tracey manages to gather the others and they enter the forest only to find a sobbing Lisa – and to their shock, the dead body of their friend Neville Longbottom. Lisa explains how Nott used the Death Curse on Neville before fleeing. She curses herself for not being able to help. The friends manage to calm her down.

This is obviously followed by Neville's funeral, and a massive search for Nott, who is not to be found.

Christmas arrives and the friend's are still mourning Neville's death. They decide to spend Christmas at Hogwarts itself in the memory of their friend.

Meanwhile, there are regular attacks on Death Eater families during the Christmas period. They all try their best to hide, but they are unable to do so. By the end of the festive period, all the rumoured Death Eater families have been wiped out.

Term begins again and students return. The Slytherin table is almost empty as a result of the attacks. However, life goes on as normally as it could for Harry and his friends.

However, tragedy strikes again soon as Tracey is kidnapped. Harry finds a not addressed to him to come to the Dept of Mysteries if he wants to see Tracey alive. On the way there, he finds Lisa at the Hogwarts door and she asks him what's wrong. Harry tells her, and she insists on accompanying him as she wants to help. Harry disagrees with her but finally relents.

But of them use Harry's firebolt to get to the Ministry of Magic and subsequently to the Department of Mysteries. Soon Harry finds Tracey tied to a pillar with magical bonds. He rushed to free her as she shouts, "Harry NO, its a trap!"

From behind Harry, a voice shouts _"Avada Kedavra" _and to his horror the curse hits Tracey square in the chest, and she moves on to the next great adventure.

Harry is stunned and he turns back to find Lisa Turpin holding the wand which fired the death curse. In a fit of rage, Harry leaps for her only to be stopped and bound in mid-air as another person enters the room – none other than Neville Longbottom.

Harry is shocked to see his friend alive and after a few taunts Neville begins his tale...

Neville tells the tale of how Dumbledore was disappointed after the 2nd task in the Triwizard Tournament about Harry's actions. He's pinned Harry as too noble and thus unable of being his pawn as he strived for magical world domination. Thus he'd called Neville to his office and released his magical core. However, Neville's core had proven to be too strong for Dumbledore and Neville managed to subdue him and perform Legilimency on him.

Dumbledore's memories showed two boys being born with extraordinary power. However, Dumbledore wanted no one to be as powerful as himself and thus he had bound both their magical cores. He had been under the assumption that he would be able to control Neville, but he wasn't.

Neville walked out of Dumbledore's office with his magical core restored and spent the next few days learning how to control and use his power. He sought help from his oldest friend, Lisa to do the same.

Neville's thought soon started to shift to world domination and he knew that for that to happen he's have to get rid of Voldemort and Harry Potter.

Thus, he, with Lisa's help had managed to destroy all of Voldemort's Horcruxes. He had faked his death so that he could find the time to destroy the Death Eaters and their families during the Christmas period. He had then managed to destroy Voldemort himself, thus sealing his destiny (according to him) as the Boy Who Conquered.

He then uses the Killing Curse on Harry and throws him through the Veil.

Neville returns to the Wizarding World and claims that Voldemort had captured him and not killed him. He refuses to reveal why he had been taken as a prisoner. He tells the story of how Harry Potter died in battle and Neville later managed to kill the Dark Lord himself.

Neville wins the trust of the Wizarding World and becomes their here. He thinks to himself "The good guy doesn't always win!"

Just as the story is about to end, there's a scene in which a young man opens his eyes.

The last line of this story is a young female saying, "Welcome back, Harry."

There was a sequel planned for this as well. It was to be titled **"Revenge of the Fallen"**

In this sequel, its revealed that Harry is inside the veil and he is talking to Tracey at Kings Cross. She gives him the option to move on with her or go back and save the others.

He gets tempted into moving on but Tracey convinces him to save the others. Tracey tells him that he will exit the veil but it will be at an uncertain time in the future and at an uncertain place. She also tells him that his magical core will be as powerful as Neville's.

When Harry exits the veil, he finds himself 5 years in the future. Neville Longbottom has taken over the Wizarding World. He believes in power and has invented a device with which a wizard/witch's power will be measured. All those below power are treated like Muggles.

He somehow manages to make his way to Black Island and there he finds the people who oppose Neville. To his surprise there are only 8 of them. Sirius is alive and married to Leslie Bones (Susan's mother). Remus and Tonks are alive and together. The other 4 are Susan, Justine, Daphne and Hermione.

The 8 of them are ecstatic to see Harry and stories are exchanged. It is soon established that Susan and Justine are a couple.

However, what surprises Harry the most is that Daphne and Hermione are together as well. Obviously, they go on to include Harry as the story progresses and Harry ends up with both Hermione and Daphne by his side.

The 8 of them manage to defeat Neville's Power Army and we end with our happily ever after.

The End

Note: I know a lot of you would want to abuse me right now, but this is the best I could do. Hope you liked the short story at least. It's been a pleasure writing for you.

This is the Unusual Suspect signing off...


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